Caring for the Moraine workshop

Oak Ridges Moraine landowners may wonder, "What can I do to help?" Rural, non-farm residents can refer to a new environmental property self-assessment publication created to assist their efforts.

The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide is fashioned after the successful Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) which helped farmers identify ways to enhance environmental features on their property, but targeted at non-farm landowners with properties generally greater than two acres.

The Caring for the Moraine Project's Rice Lake Plains area partners are hosting a workshop on this guide for residents living on the Oak Ridges Moraine in the Rice Lake Plains (which stretches from Harwood east to Carmel and from Roseneath south to Baltimore). The workshop will be 9 a.m. to 12:30 p..m. Saturday, April 5 at Fenella Hall with lunch and an optional field trip to follow.

Landowners will receive and work through the guide, learn about stewardship and hear from local stewardship organizations.

The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide helps landowners evaluate their property and identify areas where they might positively impact the local environment. The guide is a series of worksheets that landowners start working through during a short workshop.

Worksheets cover topics ranging from wells and septic systems to managing forest, stream and wetland ecosystems.

After the workshop, landowners can complete the rest of the guide and create an action plan for environmental improvements to be undertaken on their property. Landowners can take advantage of technical expertise both at the workshop and afterwards to complete the guide. The guide also contains valuable stewardship tips and resource information.

The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for Ontario Landscape was produced by environmental partners including the Canadian Water Network, Environment Canada, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ontario Nature, Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition, Wildlife Habitat Canada, and the University of Guelph.

To register for the workshop, contact Ashley Wilson at Lower Trent Conservation, 613-394-3915 ext. 225 or through e-mail at ricelakeplains@ltc.on.ca .

Other workshops coming up, all on May 10, include: birds of the Rice Lake Plains at Alderville Community Centre, forest ecology and early morning bird hike at Millbrook Community Centre, and a family day celebration at Laurie Lawson Outdoor Education Centre in Cobourg. Contact Ms. Wilson for more details or visit www.moraineforlife.org for more events.

The Caring for the Moraine's Rice Lake Plains Partners include Alderville First Nation, Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority, Lower Trent Conservation, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Northumberland County Forest, Northumberland Land Trust, Northumberland Stewardship Council and Ontario Parks. This project is supported with funding from the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation.

Northumberland Today - Ontario, CA.