Lower Maitland Stewardship Group

Last Saturday April 21st, we co-hosted another ‘Great Goderich Shoreline Clean Up’, with great success.

175 volunteers came together to clean up 1,072 lbs of garbage!  Wow!  The Lower Maitland Stewardship Group and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority lead the river clean up.  There were about 35 of us, including many shoreline clean up veterans and some new volunteers.  We managed to find some interesting ‘treasures’ including lots of scrap metal, a couple diapers, propane tanks, fishing tackle, a dehumidifier, and lots more.  There were several car and truck loads of garbage.  The Coastal Centre did an excellent job promoting the event, and coordinating the beach clean up and barbeque.  We’re planning to collaborate on another shoreline clean up in April 2019.

Thank you to everyone who helped out with the shoreline clean up!

That’s a lot of garbage that’s no longer polluting our river and lake.

Keen and ready to go!

Look at all that loot!

Lots of garbage was collected from several hot spots for river valley users, including trail heads and riverside parking lots.

Another successful event!

The Nature Conservancy of Canada would like to send a huge “thank you!” for helping us cut down invasive Scotch pine at the Riverbend property on October 27!

With your help our small but mighty group spent a mild fall day removing small and mid-sized Scotch pines from about 1.5 acres (0.6 ha) of forest and meadow. By removing these invasive trees we made space for native plants (like those scattered white pine!) to grow, and the brush piles we built will create new habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Thank you!

________________________________________________________

Walking through the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)’s Riverbend property, visitors can see why the area is so special: a long stretch of high quality shoreline along the Maitland River; cliffs that host old, slow-growing cedars; deciduous forests containing southern species, such as common hackberry and northern spice-bush. Unfortunately, the property also hosts an unwelcome visitor: Scotch pine.

Scotch pine (or, if you prefer – Scots pine) was originally brought over from Europe to help stabilize soil and reduce erosion. Unfortunately, the species was a bit too hardy, and today Scotch pine is considered an invasive species throughout eastern North America. Regenerating Scotch pine fills in open areas and crowds out the native plants that should be growing there. On the Riverbend property, it has established along the trail sides and we need your help to get rid of it!

On Friday, October 27, we’re looking for volunteers to help us remove this invasive tree from the trailside. We’ll be cutting down small Scotch pine using hand saws and loppers. NCC will provide gloves and tools, but feel free to bring your own. To learn more or to sign up, please visit: https://events.natureconservancy.ca

Where?  Blacker Property on Highway 8 (Huron Road), 5 km from Goderich.  The property is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).
When?  May 7, 2016, 11:30am to 3pm
To register, click here.

There have been coniferous (evergreen) trees planting on this property in the past, and only about half survived. The trees planted this spring will add diversity, and eventually this area will become a beautiful mixed forest.

Join NCC, HSC, and Maitland Valley Conservation Authority staff on Saturday May 7th as we go ‘Back to Blacker‘ to continue our restoration of a former agricultural field to a beautiful mixed forest characteristic of the Lower Maitland River Valley. By planting native deciduous trees to augment the restoration of the area we’ll be increasing the overall size and quality of the forest on the Blacker property as well as creating more habitat for area sensitive bird species.

No previous experience is required, but but participants should dress for the conditions: wear sturdy closed-toe shoes (steel toes if possible), long pants, comfortable clothing you don’t mind getting dirty, and a hat. Please bring your own lunch and refillable water bottle. You may also bring your own work gloves, if you have them.

NCC will provide work gloves for those who need them as well as extra snacks and water. There will be no on-site washroom facilities at this event. Additional event details, including directions and parking information will be provided after registration.

We will be planting all native, deciduous species, about the size of the trees in this picture.

The Lower Maitland River Valley Natural Area is one of the largest areas of natural cover in southern Ontario. It is a physically diverse landscape of cliffs, forests and seepage areasproviding habitat for many species, including some of which are globally and/or provincially rare. NCC has acquired a number of properties in the area in an effort to conserve and maintain these features, including the Blacker Property. The property contains a wide range of interesting species, including the endangered butternut tree.

If you’d like to carpool to the event, please click here, https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/7xipyk to add your car or join a ride going to the event. There is also a waitlist feature if there isn’t a ride there yet that works for you. Happy carpooling!

NCC would like to thank the Edge Renewal Fund and Huron Clean Water Program for their generous support of this CV event.

The yellow star is where the trees will be planted. There will be parking alongside Huron Road, but it will be limited. Please try to carpool if you can.