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.
Twenty years of Watersheds Canada
Watersheds Canada was proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2022. This blog post, written by executive director Robert Pye, reflects on our organization's impact on freshwater ecosystems across Canada and all the diverse wildlife they host. He also discusses how much more work there is do, especially in the face of a changing climate, invasion by alien species, blooms of harmful algae, and other issues affecting our freshwater.
Using Benthic Macro-invertebrates as a Way to Assess Aquatic Pollution Levels blog
Benthic macroinvertebrates are excellent bio-indicators of freshwater health, since they spend large parts of their lifecycle in the water and are very sensitive to different levels of pollution they encounter over their lifetime. Read this blog post to learn about how biomonitoring works, what some of the key species are, and how you can take part in benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring yourself.
Valley Heritage Radio 98.7FM CJHR interview - December 16, 2021
Monica Seidel from Watersheds Canada speaks to Andrew Cartright of Valley Heritage Radio about a fish habitat restoration project that took place on Olmstead and Jeffrey Lakes in Renfrew County.
Vegetated riprap shoreline restoration - Natural Edge Program testimonial
Megan McCarthy, a Natural Edge participant, shares her experience naturalizing her shoreline property on Dalhousie Lake. She planted trees in her riprap, giving her shoreline extra stabilization against the effects of erosion.
Walleye Spawning Bed Enhancement Protocol video
This document outlines planning and implementation guidelines for walleye spawning bed enhancement projects. It provides information on determining the objective of the project, consulting experts and stakeholders, obtaining necessary permits, choosing a project site, planning the project, funding the project, and communicating the project plan. The toolkit also includes a section on implementation, which covers ordering material and equipment, stockpiling rock, installing a silt curtain, transporting and depositing rocks, and evaluating the success of the project.
Walleye Spawning Bed Restoration - Muskrat River, Ontario
In recent years, the Muskrat River suffered a flooding event which silted out the walleye spawning bed. Since that event, spawning numbers have drastically decreased. Because walleye is a very sensitive fish species, siltation negatively affects their spawning beds. Silt covers the eggs, preventing them from being adequately oxygenated. This increases embryonic (early-stage development) walleye mortality. With approval from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry, the restoration of the historic walleye spawning site was completed in two steps in fall 2022. First, community members and staff swept the bed to stir up the silt. Next, volunteers came through with a power hose to push the silt downstream into a silt curtain. This fish habitat enhancement project was possible thanks to a grant from the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, and strong community support and involvement from Olmstead Jeffrey Lake Association, Muskrat Watershed Council, OFAH Zone F, Algonquin College – Environmental Technician Program from the Pembroke Campus, and Watersheds Canada.
Walleye or Pickerel – The Great Debate
Are they called walleye or pickerel? The answer is more complicated than you might think! Read this blog post to explore the nuances of fish taxonomy as it pertains to the freshwater fish species, walleye.
Walleye river bed colouring sheet
Walleye spawning beds are typically gravel shoals or rocky shallows with wave action present. These moving waters prevent silt from accumulating on the rock. Silt would prevent eggs laid in between the rocks from being adequately oxygenated. Moving oxygen in the water is critical in facilitating spawning.
Water Quality Experiment
This document provides a guideline for pH in finished drinking water, with a preferred range of 6.5 to 8.2 for most aquatic life. Different factors can affect the pH of the water, such as algae blooms or pollution. Aquatic animals like dragonflies can be used as bioindicators of an ecosystem's health. The experiment involves testing water quality in different spots and recording findings to compare results.