Lower Maitland Stewardship Group

On October 21, 2013 members of the LMSG met at Barrie Elliot’s property for a fall hike.  Despite some rain (and even hail!), everyone had fun learning more about the interesting plants and animals that can be found in the Mailtand River Valley.  Highlights of the walk included a seeing healthy butternut tree (endangered in Ontario), catching sight of a deer, a beautiful view of the Maitland River, a Blue Beech tree (rare to the area) and of course some delicious treats.

Hikers stand under a Blue Beech tree – a rare sight in this area.

Hosted by the Maitland Trail Association, the ‘El Camino’ was a hiking journey from Auburn to Goderich along the entire length of the Maitland Trail. The event was held the
weekend of June 22nd—23rd, 2013. The Lower Maitland Stewardship Group participated by hosting a checkpoint along the trail for tired hikers who needed a rest and a snack. Hikers were greeted by Barrie Elliott, Tom Lobb, Beth Ross, and Carolyn Williams with homemade treats and ‘souvenir’ LMSG postcards showing the unique and sensitive plants and animals that can be found along the Lower Maitland River.

The LMSG checkpoint at Cherrydale was 27 km in to the 30 km hike, and was voted the best rest stop on Day 1 by the MTA.  Eighty-nine hikers participated in the event, both from the area and out of town. The checkpoint gave us a chance to spread the word about our group, showcase the rare species that rely on the Maitland, and promote good stewardship!

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup took place across Canada between September 15 and 23, 2012, involving hundreds of sites and thousands of volunteers (over 56,000 in 2011). On Saturday, September 15, a small but keen group of volunteers did their bit along about half a kilometre of the shore of the Maitland River, near the Menesetung Bridge and golf course. In two hours we collected about sixty pounds – three bags of garbage and one of recycling. Interesting findings included:

30 golf balls (which we left in a pile for the golfers)
89 food wrappers/containers
26 bottles (plastic and glass)
31 plastic bags
53 pieces of Styrofoam
315 cigarette butts

Of particular interest were the six full doggie poop bags. It boggled our minds that somebody would stoop and scoop, tie up a bag, and then toss it in the river.