April 2024 Newsletter
https://bit.ly/KWEFApril2024Newsletter
Included in this issue:
Lake Partners Program
Naturalized Shorelines
Composting & FoodCycler® Pilot Program
Fire Permits
Lake Partners Program: Spring 2024 Reminder
A reminder to all our readers who are part of the Lake Partner Program run by DESC, (Dorset Environmental Science Centre), which is part of MECP (Ministry of the Environment Conservation & Parks).
If you are expecting a kit this spring and don't receive it, be sure to contact DESC immediately as they may have accidently dropped you from their list. Please let us know as well.
If you decide to retire from the program and haven't recruited someone to take your place, please let us know, so that KWEF can find a replacement. Having an uninterrupted set of readings for each lake is very important when watching for trends. In the fall, we would also like to get a copy of the individual secchi disk readings you took during the summer for our records, so please keep a copy before sending the readings to DESC.
DESC just reports the average and we are interested in the actual variations over the summer. We would also like to hear of any increases in algae growth and their location that you might see. As usual, we will extract the TP (Total Phosphorous) Calcium and average Secchi Depth results for the lakes in the Kearney Watershed from the huge DESC Database and report this information in our WQM (Water Quality Monitoring) Report which you can access via our website, Newsletter or our soon to be set up Facebook page.
Stan Walker heads up this initiative and can be reached at stan.kwef@gmail.com, or (705) 636-9530, if you need to contact him directly.
Thank you for all your help with this valuable program!
Naturalized Shorelines
This is the time of year that our thoughts turn to our gardens. The best thing you can do for the health of our ecosystem is to have a naturalized shoreline.
Shorelines are vital habitats. Throughout their lifetimes, over 90% of aquatic species use shorelines for food, shelter, breeding, and rearing areas.
Protect your shoreline with native plants that:
- will help protect your property from erosion by absorbing wave and ice energy
- reduce flood water damage
- discourage geese and deal with their poop
- slow surface runoff and filter contaminants before they reach the lake
- provide food and shelter for fish and wildlife species
- improve water quality to enhance your shoreline’s resilience against climate change impacts.
Best of all, naturalized shorelines mean less work and more time to enjoy the lake!
How to Naturalize Your Shoreline
Creating a “no-mow” zone near the shoreline and allowing vegetation to re-establish on its own.
Plant native trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers and/or aquatic plants in the buffer area.
Allow the accumulation of woody debris along shoreline.
Remove or “soften” existing hard structures like retaining walls, gabion baskets and rip rap.
Some native plants to consider: Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), Beebalm (Monarda, Bergamot), Red Dogwood (Cornus sericea), Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba), Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
Composting & The FoodCycler® Pilot Program
Composting
Often, people throw their food scraps and other organic rubbish into the trash and it ends up in a very different, and much, much bigger pile called a “landfill”. A landfill is a giant pile of trash that will never break down. This is because it contains both organic and inorganic trash like plastic which cannot decompose naturally.
Landfills can be a big problem for our water and air.
Water: The food releases water that trickles down to the bottom of the landfill pile. The bottom layers of trash soak in this water and, because some of it – like plastic – contains poisonous chemicals, over time a toxic black liquid, called leachate, is formed, which can leak out of the landfill and into our rivers, lakes and groundwater.
Air: Food that is trapped inside a landfill doesn’t get the air it needs to break down into compost. Instead, it does two things. First it releases a gas called methane. This gas is very flammable and can cause dangerous fires on the landfill site. Methane also warms the Earth’s atmosphere and causes climate change.
Composting means we can avoid all of this! It’s an easy way to help slow climate change and keep our drinking water and aquatic environments safe and clean.
Organic material makes up somewhere between a quarter to a half of our total household waste, so composting will also massively reduce the amount of trash in our bins and the space taken up by landfills.
Source: https://trashhero.org/
Benefits of Using Your Finished Compost
You can add compost to your naturalized shoreline, flower and vegetable beds, window boxes, and container gardens; incorporate it into tree beds; mix it with potting soil for indoor plants; or spread it on top of the soil in your yard.
Compost can be used as a soil amendment or as a mulch. As a soil amendment, mix in two to four inches of compost to the top six to nine inches of your soil. As a mulch, loosen the top two to three inches of soil and add a three-inch layer of compost on the surface, a few inches away from plant stems and tree trunks.
Adding finished compost to your soil:
Improves the structure and health of your soil by adding organic matter.
Helps the soil retain moisture and nutrients.
Attracts beneficial organisms to the soil and reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
Reduces the potential for soil erosion.
Sequesters carbon in the soil.
Builds resiliency to the impacts of climate change.
What about pests?
Many people don’t compost because they claim it will attract rodents, racoons and bears. While some people have considerable success with open compost bin systems, they are often more difficult to manage than an enclosed system. Using a closed compost bin system with ventilation will help to keep animal pests at bay. Although some pests will dig under a bin, a closed system is too much work for many animals and it also keeps the smell down. Using commercially available compost bins are relatively pest-free, particularly if you put the bin on 1/4 inch wire mesh or hardware cloth - this discourages pests burrowing underneath. Food scraps, fruit or vegetables like carrots, potatoes etc., can be put in the bins year round.
For further information on how to compost, please follow this link: https://davidsuzuki.org
The FoodCycler® Pilot Program
Are you interested in reducing your food waste volume by up to 90%?
The Town of Kearney is looking into a new pilot program that will help Kearney residents to do just this. The Town is considering offering “The Food Cycler” to residents at a reduced cost and is conducting a survey to gauge community interest to determine if there are enough residents interested to bring the program to the Town.
If you wish to participate in the Food Cycler Pilot Program, please complete the survey and send it to admin@townofkearney.ca.
Here is a link to the survey: FoodCycler® Survey.
The FoodCycler® is the easy alternative to composting: https://foodcycler.com
For further information about the FoodCycler® Program, please follow this link: FoodCycler® Information
Deadline to sign up is April 30. Only 20 more people are needed to sign up to make this program a go!
Fire Permits
Fire Permits
As our minds turn to spring clean-up, please remember that the Town of Kearney requires Fire Permits from April 1 to October 31. The Town of Kearney requires that all property owners and camping visitors obtain a fire permit before proceeding with any outdoor fires regardless of whether you are burning at home, or at a designated campground. Anyone burning without a permit may be subject to fines. There are 3-day permits, and full-season permits. Also, no daytime burning is allowed.
Please follow this link for further information: https://townofkearney.ca/your-government/administration/fire-emergency-services/fire-rating-and-permits/
Since we had little snowfall this winter, Ontario may be on track for yet another record-breaking wildfire season; it is important that we all adhere to the fire burning regulations, and be particularly aware when there are fire bans.
The World Resource Institute has just published it’s annual survey of the World’s Forests. (https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends).
According to the report, Canada accounted for more than half of the world's forest loss due to fire last year. Ninety-two per cent of the forest lost in Canada was due to fire.