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 Riparian Zone handout
The Riparian Zone is an area between the upland zone and the shoreline, providing distinct rich, moist soils for diverse plant communities. A healthy riparian zone contains diverse plant species, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, and helps to maintain water levels, temperature, and prevent erosion. It also provides habitat for plants and animals, and helps to manage storm water and control floods. Additionally, it provides cooling temperature and shade for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.
The Science Behind the Ribbon of Life: Why Vegetated Shoreline Buffers Matter webinar
This document outlines the benefits of vegetated shoreland buffers and discusses why local decision makers, landowners, developers, and landscape professionals should maintain or restore native vegetation to achieve holistic protection for water front properties and ecosystems. Vegetated shoreland buffers, also known as the 'Ribbon of Life', are essential to the health and sustainability of Canada's fresh water. According to numerous scientific studies, the restoration and maintenance of vegetated shoreland buffers is widely promoted by scientists as an effective best-management practice for fresh water health. Unfortunately, the removal of native vegetation from shorelands has become a harmful and growing trend across Canada and is a major factor in the decline of water quality and wildlife communities (Hadley et al., 2013). Supporting healthy fresh water ecosystems will depend on policy makers and property owners making sustainable land-use decisions informed by scientific evidence. Using highly-cited and peer-reviewed scientific studies, this document outlines the benefits of vegetated shoreland buffers, and discusses why local decision makers, landowners, developers, and landscape professionals should maintain or restore native vegetation to achieve holistic protection for water front properties and ecosystems. The document also provides a comprehensive overview of the science behind vegetated shoreland buffers, including their role in protecting water quality, mitigating erosion, and providing habitat for wildlife. The document concludes by emphasizing the importance of maintaining or restoring vegetated shoreland buffers to protect water quality, mitigate erosion, and support biodiversity in Canada's fresh water ecosystems.
The Science Behind Vegetated Shoreland Buffers
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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 Way Forward for People and Waterfowl
Shoreline vegetation supports so many species, from fish, to amphibians, to mammals, to insects, and yes - even waterfowl! Waterfowl and other bird species rely on these areas for the nesting, foraging, and sheltering opportunities they provide. Learn more about the benefits of shoreline vegetation and how we can work towards supporting waterfowl species in this blog post!
This World Water Day, see the amazing fish habitat projects you have already helped complete!
This blog post centers around Long Sault Creek, a beautiful cold-water creek that was able to be restored thanks to the generosity and hard work of individual donors and community groups. It shows a before and after photo of the creek, and provides context about the value of cold-water creek restoration projects for building up native trout habitat.
Three Summers with Watersheds Canada
This personal reflection was written by a past intern that describes her experience supporting the pilot years of Love Your Lake, our shoreline assessment program. Step into the field with her to hear of her experience performing shoreline assessments and interacting with passionate lake stewards at events. Expand your horizons through hearing her views on building up freshwater stewardship around lake communities.
Time is Running Out: An Interview with Al Best
Al Best is the President of Carson, Trout, Lepine and Greenan Lakes Association, and has participated in Watersheds Canada’s Love Your Lake program and Natural Edge program. Al was a strong advocate on his lake association, which resulted in him getting our Love Your Lake on his lake to assess the shorelines and also in him restoring his shoreline through our The Natural Edge program. Read this blog post for a full interview with Al to hear his thoughts on our Love Your Lake program, the impacts of the program on his lake, how it has changed his views on lake health, and much more!
Top 5 Ways to Support Winter Wildlife blog
Winter in Canada can be difficult, especially for wildlife. Moreover, the increased development of natural areas has placed stress on species throughout the year but particularly in the wintertime. However, the silver lining is that there are things you can do to help support your shoreline wildlife this winter, though. Read this blog post to learn about some ways to do so, including supporting native plant growth, reducing your disturbance around shorelines, winterizing your chemicals, and more.