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.
Life Cycles Activity Book (grade 2)
This activity book is about the life cycles of frogs and turtles. It explains how they grow from eggs to adult animals. The book also teaches children about the importance of protecting their habitats and the dangers of pollution. It includes fun activities such as word searches, mazes, and coloring pages. The book is designed for children to learn about wildlife and conservation in a fun and interactive way.
Life Systems Biodiversity Activity Book (grade 6)
This activity book explores the concept of biodiversity, its importance, and how it relates to ecosystems, particularly lakes. It includes interactive exercises, such as BINGO, word searches, and matching games, to help learners understand and appreciate biodiversity. The book also highlights the interconnectedness of species and the impact of human activities on the environment. Through engaging activities and educational content, this book aims to promote environmental awareness and stewardship.
Life Systems Biodiversity activity book
This activity book is designed to teach young students (grade 4-6) about biodiversity, particularly around lakes and rivers. It includes activities such as BINGO, word searches, and matching games as water quality, bioindicators, and community biodiversity topics are explored.
Life in the Weeds: Exploring the Rarely Seen World of Aquatic Plants handout by Watersheds Canada and Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
The document emphasizes the importance of protecting native aquatic plants. It suggests ways to reduce disturbance and removal of these plants and encourages readers to join the Freshwater Stewardship Community. The document also explains the benefits of native aquatic vegetation, including wave energy absorption, water quality protection, and habitat provision. Additionally, it describes different types of aquatic plants, such as emergent, floating, and submergent plants.
Life in the Weeds: Exploring the rarely seen world of aquatic plants webinar by Dr. Jo Latimore
This is a handout from our webinar, "Life in the "Weeds": Exploring the rarely seen world of aquatic plants". The document discusses the importance of protecting native aquatic plants, which benefit lakes by absorbing wave energy, protecting water quality, and providing habitat. It encourages readers to join the Freshwater Stewardship Community and use the Lake Protection Workbook to assess their property. The document also highlights the different types of aquatic vegetation, including emergent, floating, and submergent plants. By properly managing invasive species and algae competition, readers can help maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems.
Light Pollution Introductory Slide Deck
Light pollution is unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial light that can affect wildlife behavior, human health, and environmental quality. It can disrupt the natural behaviors and processes of aquatic life, interfere with nocturnal wildlife, and impact human health by disrupting circadian rhythms. Light pollution can also contribute to climate change by wasting energy. To prevent light pollution, simple changes can be made, such as installing light shields, choosing lower-wattage bulbs, and turning off unnecessary lights.
Light pollution: A Hidden Threat to Biodiversity, our Night Sky, and our Health
Light pollution is not something we think about often, however it can have deep impacts both on us and on our native wildlife. This blog post investigates this threat for biodiversity, shedding light on such terms as skyglow, glare, and light clutter. It also provides information on the impacts it can cause, and how we as citizens can help reduce the prevalence of these issues.
Long Lake Walleye Enhancement Project – Melissa Dakers, Watersheds Canada & Terry Eccles, Long Lake Property Owners Association Presentation
The Long Lake Walleye Enhancement Project was a collaborative effort between Watersheds Canada and the Long Lake Property Owner’s Association. The project aimed to enhance two walleye spawning beds. Despite initial challenges, the team persevered and successfully enhanced the beds. The project demonstrates the impact of community-driven initiatives.
Love Your Lake 2013-2021 values survey report
Love Your Lake is a program that assesses the health of a lake's shoreline and encourages shoreline property owners to take voluntary stewardship actions. The program has reached 53,252 properties on 229 lakes since its inception in 2013. A values survey is used to identify what is important to property owners about their lake, and the results show that the most frequently identified issue facing Canadian lakes is Water Quality. The most frequently identified actions shoreline property owners believe would benefit their lake and lake community include Create or enforce stricter rules for new development, Undertake a lake management plan, and Provide education materials to property owners. The top concerns expressed about water quality were Algae/aquatic vegetation, Bacteria, and Chemical contamination and pollution.