Welcome to the Watersheds Canada Resource Library!
Here you will find a comprehensive collection of free educational resources dedicated to helping rural shoreline property owners, families, municipalities, lake groups, and educators protect their lakes and restore natural habitat. Explore guides, best practices, case studies, lesson plans, and tools to become a freshwater protector. All resources are freely shareable so please include them in a newsletter, on social media, or printed for a community booth!
Funding support thanks to Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation, and S.M. Blair Family Foundation.
The Brrrrd Club: Cold-weather birding in Muskoka, Haliburton, and Agonquin with Rebecca Krawcyzk
The leafless season is a great time to improve birding skills and learn more about the birds that can be attracted to feeders and found in the branches beyond. Presented through the filter of an amateur birder and community scientist, this webinar focuses on species identification and personalities, tips to help you bring more birds into to your backyard, and tricks to find more bird species in the field throughout the colder months of the year. Birding makes winter so much more enjoyable. Through photos, video, and sound, you will learn how biodiversity in the forest, at the water’s edge, and in your backyard can bring more birds right to you.
The Ghost of Phosphorus Past webinar with Lamisa Malik
This is a handout from our webinar, "The Ghost of Phosphorus Past: How decades of phosphorus use is shaping today’s water quality in North America". Eutrophication has been a complex problem in Lake Erie since the 1960s. Algal blooms in Lake Erie have increased significantly despite conservation efforts. Legacy phosphorus is stored in the soil and may take several decades to travel before increasing stream-phosphorus concentration. Different strategies may be required to mitigate the problem in the US and Canadian watersheds of the Lake Erie basin.
The Importance of Wetland Plants for Dragonflies and Damselflies webinar with Dr. Mary Ann Perron
This is a handout from our webinar, "The Importance of Wetland Plants for Dragonflies and Damselflies". Odonata, including dragonflies and damselflies, are ancient insects with a biphasic lifecycle. They spend part of their life in the water as aquatic nymphs and part of their life in the terrestrial environment as adults. Dragonflies and damselflies make good bioindicators due to their widespread presence in freshwater habitats and their ability to live in various environmental conditions. Wetland plants are essential for Odonata, providing shelter, opportunities for thermoregulation, and a vertical substrate for emergence.
The Memory of the Mud webinar with Liz Factor, PhD
This is a handout from our webinar, "The Memory of the Mud: Paleolimnology reveals the impact of climate change on modern cyanobacterial bloom occurrence". Paleolimnology is a multidisciplinary science that uses aquatic sediments to track past changes in ecosystems. It can be used to study the past when current monitoring data does not exist. Understanding the past is key to putting environmental issues in context. The best way to control algal blooms is through prevention, which includes minimizing nutrient concentrations by reducing nutrient runoff from a catchment.
The Threat of Grass Carp to the Great Lakes webinar with Liana Hryniewicz
This is a handout from our webinar, "The Threat of Grass Carp to the Great Lakes". Grass Carp is an invasive species that poses a significant threat to the Great Lakes Basin. It can consume up to 40% of its body weight in aquatic vegetation daily. If established, it would have severe ecological and socio-economic impacts. The Great Lakes are worth $13.8 billion annually and would experience severe economic impacts if Grass Carp were to establish.
The importance of community
This blog post celebrated the launch of our Freshwater Stewardship Community in 2022. It discusses the many benefits provided by collaboration and community-building, and even provides some speaker highlights from the first year of this program.
Water Soldier Eradication Efforts in Ontario webinar with Robert McGowan
This is a handout from our webinar, "Water soldier (Stratiotes aloides) Eradication Efforts in Ontario". The document discusses the eradication efforts of the invasive aquatic plant Water Soldier in Ontario. It explains how to help prevent its spread, including using the 'Clean Drain Dry' method, disposing of it on land, and reporting sightings. The document also provides information on the Water Soldier Working Group's monitoring projects and grant opportunities. Additionally, it includes identification and biology information about Water Soldier, as well as a management plan to prevent its introduction and spread in Ontario.
Watershed Explorers webinar by Kailey Setter
This is a handout from our webinar, "Watershed Explorer: Family-friendly activities to help you explore your watershed". This document provides resources from the Canadian Wildlife Federation, including lesson plans, educational materials, and conservation projects for kids. It also connects families with the outdoors through the WILD Family Nature Club. The document explains what a watershed is and provides handouts for activities such as hosting a BioBlitz and packing a Nature Discovery Backpack. Additionally, it offers resources for citizen science programs and a Watershed Explorer for family-friendly activities.
Wetlands, Waterways, and Waterbirds: The Boreal Connection webinar with Natasha Barlow
This is a handout from our webinar, "Wetlands, Waterways, and Waterbirds: The Boreal Connection". The document provides tips on how to help Boreal birds by restoring shorelines, removing invasive species, and practicing safe boating techniques. It also introduces the Greater Yellowlegs, a bird species that breeds in northern Canada and can overwinter in South America. The document highlights the importance of freshwater in the Boreal biome and encourages readers to join the Freshwater Stewardship Community. Additionally, it provides information on the Boreal biome and its ecological significance.