June 2022 Newsletter
Included in this issue:
KWEF Informational Meeting
Healthy Shorelines
Invasive Plants
Turtles
Future Newsletters
KWEF is having an Informational Meeting!
Save the date: July 9, 2022 10:00 a.m. at Kearney Community Centre
Come out and meet our Board of Directors, find out what we are all about, what we do, how we benefit our community. Memberships for 2022 are now due; they are only $10. We’d love it if you would confirm your membership at this meeting.
Healthy Shorelines
Healthy Shorelines help to protect the water quality of our lakes. What happens on land affects our water – water that we live near and swim and play in. Shorelines that are eroded, hardened or bordered with lawn allow soil, pollutants and nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen to wash into the water. Some of these substances stay in the water and some settle to the bottom. This damages water quality and fish habitat and fertilizes excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants.
Natural shorelines, containing a variety of native plants with their deep strong root systems, slow down natural runoff and trap nutrients, pollutants and eroding soil before they can reach the water.
Natural and restored shorelines with a variety of native ground covers, wild flowers, shrubs and trees also:
protect your property
protect lake water quality
protect against erosion from waves, boat wakes and flooding
slow the growth of aquatic "weeds" and algae
provide important habitat for a wide range of land-based and aquatic wildlife
help keep geese off your property
supply important food sources for bees, Monarch butterflies and other pollinators
protect against the effects of climate change, extreme weather events and drought
save yourself work – with less or no lawn to cut, you’ll have more deck and dock time!
Even if a soap or shampoo is biodegradable, it is not safe to put that soap directly into the water. All soaps / shampoos, whether biodegradable or not, affects lake chemistry in a detrimental fashion. It can also have a negative impact on fish and other aquatic organisms. Please don’t bathe in the lake; keep our water clean.
5 Ways to a Healthy Shoreline
1. Give yourself a buffer zone.
Leave as much native vegetation along your shoreline as possible. This helps filter sediment and pollutants before they reach the lake, as well as providing a habitat for wildlife.
2. Rethink your retaining walls.
Hardened shorelines deflect wave energy instead of absorbing it, causing erosion problems further along the shoreline. If your shoreline has a retaining wall, plant vegetation along the top of the wall to help filter runoff and reduce the risk of erosion.
3. Take another look at your lawn.
With a shorter root system, lawns aren’t able to stabilize the soil and filter sediments and pesticides as well as native vegetation which has a longer root system. Did you know that over 55 per cent of precipitation runs off lawns which can go directly into a lake? Keep lawn areas set back from your shoreline and maintain it with minimal or no water or harmful pesticides.
4. Maintain your septic bed.
Faulty septic systems and improperly treated sewage can harm both your health and the health of your lake. Make sure to get regular pump outs and inspections and be careful of what you put into the system.
5. Fix your paths and stairs.
If you have a cottage on a slope, reduce your impact on sensitive soils and fragile banks that lead down to the water by creating a permeable path that meanders rather than one that goes in a straight line. If you prefer stairs, make sure they are raised off of the ground with open backs so that rainwater and sunlight can reach the ground encouraging vegetation to grow.
Invasive Plants
Be careful what you plant. Many plants sold today can be classified as invasive. Invasive plants impact species diversity and species richness by competing heavily for resources such as light, moisture and soil nutrients that native plants require to establish and grow. These changes in species composition may affect wildlife that are adapted to native plant communities. Ultimately, invasive plants affect the intricate linkages that make ecosystems strong and resilient
There is an organization called the Ontario Invasive Plant Council that has a wealth of information about invasive plants and hosts a library of informative documents and booklets that you can read online or download free of charge. Click here for a guide for “Beautiful Non-Invasive Plants for your Garden for Northern Ontario.”
Turtles
One species of wildlife that benefits from natural shorelines is the turtle. All eight of the species of turtles in Ontario have been designated as Species at Risk. As is the case for many species at risk, habitat destruction has played a major role in the decline of turtles. Many of the marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens that turtles once called home have been drained, filled, or otherwise altered.
Roads have been built through several of the remaining wetlands, and as a result road mortality is now a major threat to turtles, second only to habitat loss. Other threats include illegal collection for food or the pet trade, boating mortality, and fishing bycatch.
Turtles 101
Turtles are considered to be the most endangered group of species on the planet! Saving just one individual can make a difference because they live long and take a long time to reach sexual maturity.
The snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in Canada. Its diet consists of about 90 per cent dead plant and animal matter, so they play an important role keeping lakes and wetlands clean.
Due to the enormous pressure on turtles from roads, habitat loss, and other threats, like the pet trade, only about one per cent of turtle hatchlings reach sexual maturity.
Exotic turtles from the pet trade are now found living in Canada’s waters. The Red-Eared Slider is a common pet turtle and is commonly released into rivers and ponds once the owner decides they no longer want the responsibility of owning a pet. These exotic turtles can introduce new diseases and out-compete native turtles for habitat and food.
Turtles are almost as old as dinosaurs! The oldest turtle fossil can be dated back 220 million years, meaning it showed up 23 million years after the dinosaurs.
Whether a turtle is born male or female is usually determined by the temperature of the nest they incubate in. More males are produced at cooler temperatures while females are produced at warmer temperatures.
Freshwater turtles do not reach sexual maturity until they are 8 to 20 years old.
Turtles are ectotherms (more commonly known as cold blooded) and are unable to regulate their own body temperature. They must bask in the sunshine to get warmed up, or dive into the water or bury in mud to cool down.
Turtles can be found on every continent except for Antarctica.
Future Newsletters
If you have a topic that you would like addressed in our Newsletter, please drop us a line at: newsletter.kwef@gmail.com.
Memberships
Memberships for 2022 are now due; they are only $10. Please send your e-transfer to treasurer.kwef@gmail.com.
Please don’t forget include the answer to your security question that we will need to deposit the funds. We also ask that you include your name, address, phone number, location of your cottage, including what lake/river.