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.
Protecting Canadas Water Quality with Native Plants: My Time at Watersheds Canada
Read this blog post to learn about the experience of Chantal Lefevre, National Edge Regional Coordinator, with our shoreline naturalization program. Hear about the highlights of her time with The Natural Edge, about the impacts she has seen so far, about the process behind our work, and much more.
Protecting Your Gardens, Lawn…and Your Lake by Love Your Lake
Many people work hard to have a lush, green lawn. However, what we do on our properties can impact the health of our lakes. Up to 35 per cent of precipitation can run off lawns and enter nearby water bodies. Alarmingly, a U.S. Geological Survey study found higher concentrations of some pesticides in urban waterways in comparison to agricultural settings.
Protecting habitat for the Pugnose Shiner fish in the Quinte watershed
The Pugnose Shiner is a small but vastly important species of fish. It is currently listed as threatened in Canada under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and is also listed as Threatened under Ontario's Endangered Species Act. This blog post tells of our efforts to enhance and restore their habitat in the Quinte Watershed by focusing on education about actions shoreline property owners can take on their lands to protect wildlife habitat quality and availability.
Pugnose Shiner - Wellers Bay and East Lake partner spotlight and individual actions video
The Pugnose Shiner is a small fish in the minnow family that is found in Southern Ontario including near the Quinte watershed. It is assessed as “threatened” by COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) and listed as such under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) Schedule 1. It is very vulnerable to declining habitat quality which is often caused by human activities on land. This project thus focused on landowner engagement and action to help enhance and restore local Pugnose Shiner populations and habitat quality.
Pugnose Shiner Landowner Engagement and Shoreline Habitat Restoration Project
The goal of this project is to focus on education and actions that you as a shoreline property owner, can take on your land to protect wildlife habitat quality and availability for the Pugnose Shiner fish, a Species at Risk. This project will focus on some of the last remaining habitats of the Pugnose Shiner in the Quinte watershed.
Pugnose Shiner colouring sheet
The Pugnose Shiner is a small fish found in Southern Ontario. It is listed as a Species at Risk and is vulnerable to declining habitat quality. The fish is found near the Quinte watershed. Learn more about Watersheds Canada's fish habitat restoration projects.
Pugnose Shiner fact sheet
The Pugnose Shiner is a threatened species due to declining habitat quality. The species is vulnerable to waterfront development, removal of aquatic vegetation, and decreased water quality and quantity. A shoreline stewardship and education program is available for property owners in the Quinte watershed. The program provides tools and funding support to protect Pugnose Shiner habitat.
Rain Smart Neighbourhoods webinar handout by Watersheds Canada and Reep Green Solutions Handout
Infiltration galleries, trees, and rain gardens are tools to slow down rain and soak it up on your property. Making small changes around your yard can improve your landscape while adapting to climate change. Rain barrels are an efficient way to collect water for reuse in your yard. This guide provides resources to help you build and maintain a rain garden.
Rain Smart Neighbourhoods webinar with Becca Robinson
This is a handout from our webinar, "Rain Smart Neighbourhoods: Beautify your landscape while protecting water quality and reducing flood risk". This document discusses the importance of creating Rain Smart Neighbourhoods. It highlights the benefits of infiltration galleries, trees, rain gardens, and permeable paving in reducing flood risk and improving water quality. The document also provides resources and guides for implementing these solutions. By making small changes around your yard, you can improve your landscape while adapting to climate change and boosting biodiversity.