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.
How to Choose Dark-Sky-Friendly Lights
Did you know that your choice of shoreline lighting matters for lake health? Everything from the bulb type and temperature to the type of shade can make a difference. Individual choices significantly impact the fight against light pollution and community action has the power to create lasting change. This blog post outlines some of the nuances about shoreline lighting so that you can make the best choice for your property and for your local wildlife.
How to Engage Community in a Lake Plan PDF
The Mississippi Lake Planning Committee developed a process to engage the community in the development of a lake stewardship plan. The process involved a 25-member Planning Committee, a Technical Advisory Committee, and a Communications Strategy. The committee used a variety of means to communicate with the public, including a website, social media, hard copies, newspapers, and radio. They also conducted surveys, public forums, and presentations to engage the community. The process was successful in engaging the community and resulted in a comprehensive lake stewardship plan.
How to Identify Salt Vulnerable Areas
Salt vulnerable areas are specific parts of freshwater systems that are particularly susceptible to contamination from salts. When addressing road salt concerns in a given community, these areas should be prioritized for monitoring and management as the potential impacts of salt pollution on freshwater wildlife are much higher. This blog post provides some ways to identify salt vulnerable areas near you.
How to Soften a Shoreline Property
A 'hard' shoreline refers to one that has significant manmade structures, from retaining walls to docks. Hard shorelines come with many potential negative impacts on natural hydrological processes and wildlife in the adjacent freshwater body, so we should all strive to soften (re-naturalize) our shorelines where possible. This blog post is a quick-start guide to help you do just that!
How to Tie a Brush Bundle - Watersheds Canada
Learn how to tie a brush bundle. Sunken logs, trees, branches, and root balls provide excellent habitat for wildlife, including fish, turtles, birds, and invertebrates. Human activity and development have significantly reduced the amount of natural woody debris in lakes. Communities can promote the health of wildlife populations and improve water quality by creating additional woody debris habitat, such as in-water structure of brush piles or bundles. These brush bundles can provide fish with a food source, areas to rest, spawn, and escape predators.
I Spy With My Little Eye
This personal reflection from Habitat and Stewardship Program Manager Melissa Dakers provides a play-by-play of her experience with a night walleye count. She joined the crew of the Malcolm & Ardoch Lakes Landowners’ Association (MALLA) for the night to view the fish using the spawning beds she had worked hard to restore through our Fish Habitat program in the years prior.
I Spy with My Little Eye...Something Green webinar with Claire Herbert
This is a handout from our webinar, "I Spy with My Little Eye...Something Green: Using Satellites to Assess Algal Blooms on Prairie Lakes". Satellite images are used to help understand the amount of algae in lakes and oceans. Scientists use algorithms to translate satellite images into measurements of algae by calculating chlorophyll concentrations. Water samples are taken to verify the representation of algae. Satellites are a cost-effective tool used by scientists to monitor and understand factors that affect the water quality of lakes.
Ice Fishing webinar with Erin Isfeld-Reynolds
This is a handout from our webinar, "Ice fishing: How to prepare for a safe and enjoyable day of winter angling". Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish through holes drilled in the ice of standing bodies of water. It can be a great way to introduce kids to fishing. To ensure a safe and enjoyable outing, check the ice thickness and use GPS to navigate. Implement responsible fish handling and stay warm.
If People Can See Value, They Will Get Involved: An Interview with Judy Hall
This is an interview with Judy Hall, President of the Dalhousie Lake Association. She sat down with the Watersheds Canada team to share her valuable thoughts about the importance of community engagement when it comes to preserving the long term health of lake ecosystems.