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. Funding support thanks to Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation, and S.M. Blair Family Foundation.
Help Wildlife Raise Their Young on Your Property
Wildlife face increasing pressures to find suitable habitat and food sources near human development: there are increased pressures from flooding, erosion, and pollution along shorelines. Wildlife need safe and natural areas to raise their young to ensure their populations stay healthy. This blog post provides some ways you can do so using constructed structures, such as bird houses and bat boxes. It has instructions to build these items yourself, too!
Helping Kids Love Nature: Water-inspired activities webinar by Annabel Slaight
We all know that inquiry, discovery, playing freely, and even taking risks in the outdoors brings benefits that will last kids a lifetime. ClearWater Farm, a demonstration eco-farm on Lake Simcoe, has been pioneering play-based learning from nature programming for kids right from its launch. In this webinar, you will get a behind-the-scenes preview of two extraordinary kids’ fun learning initiatives being launched this summer: a new e-book ("How to Think Like a Mushroom"), and an action-packed interactive website (http://ClearWaterKids.org) with experiments, games, activities, and videos. Both projects have the same mission: getting kids outside and loving nature!
Helping Your New Plants Thrive
If you're planning on restoring your shoreline using native plants, a few key tips will go a long way in ensuring that the trees, wildflowers, and shrubs stand the test of time. This informative blog post provides you with the best ways to ensure your plants' survival, with tips to take into consideration both during and after the planting.
Hidden Dangers: How Could your Septic System be Affecting Water Quality
This webpage discusses the potential impact of septic systems on water quality, highlighting the risks of untreated wastewater contaminating freshwater sources. Septic systems, commonly used in rural areas, can fail due to excessive water use, improper design, or lack of maintenance, leading to the release of pollutants such as bacteria, viruses, and excess nutrients into the environment. These pollutants can cause algae blooms, deplete oxygen levels, and harm aquatic life, ultimately affecting biodiversity in both freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Regular maintenance and responsible use of septic systems are crucial to preventing these environmental impacts and protecting Canada's freshwater resources.
History of Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae) in Canadian Waters
Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have a long history in Canadian waters, dating back approximately 2.7 billion years. These ancient organisms played a crucial role in shaping Earth's ecosystem, but their ability to produce toxic cyanotoxins has led to a bad reputation. Cyanobacteria occur naturally in most water bodies, but large blooms can cause significant harm to aquatic life and human health. Read more in this blog post!
Hot Tubs, Pools, and Freshwater: How to Properly Drain Your Water
If you are a hot tub or pool owner, it is your responsibility to know the proper procedures for their use to limit their impact on native freshwater. This blog post provides a primer on the primary risks brought about by these property features, in addition to a step-by-step guide on how you can properly drain your pool or hot tub water to limit your impact on freshwater.
How Are People Impacting Nature
Shorelines are becoming more developed, changing the way they look and the species that can live there. This has led to various threats to wildlife and water health, including plastic pollution and habitat removal. To help, replanting shorelines with native plants can create a buffer that filters out pollutants and prevents erosion. This can be achieved with the help of organizations like Watersheds Canada.
How Can I Help
Take photos and observations of animals and plants in nature and submit them to online databases. Participate in shoreline cleanups and report findings to organizations. Volunteer with local nature groups or field naturalist groups. Plant native plants or wildflowers to provide habitat and support local wildlife.
How Can I Help – Nature Discovery Backpack
Take photos and observations of animals and plants in nature and submit them to online databases. Participate in a shoreline cleanup and report what you found. Volunteer with a local nature group or field naturalist group. Plant native plants or wildflowers to help local wildlife.