Kids Day in the Watershed!

On July 17th, 10 kids, along with myself and Jillian who work with TREC, gathered at the Trout River Community Park for Kids Day in the Watershed.  Since this was the first event of its kind, I was apprehensive but really excited about the possibilities.  It turned out that my apprehension was for nothing because it was a fantastic time!
We started by sitting on the look-out and talking a bit about the anoxia in the river.  It is really at its peak this time of year and although we had been hoping to check out some fish during the day, we discussed why that wouldn't be possible and the causes.  The kids were really quick to understand and really interested in solutions.
Then, as an intro to the park (although the kids knew the ins and outs better than I did!) we did some geocaching.  There were nine caches throughout the park and using a GPS, the kids found each and every one! (Well, except the one that the crows ate, and the one that the tide took away!)  Each cache was another element to their trail mix snack, which they hoed into after geocaching was over.  I overheard one kid say, "Trail mix is a snack of the gods."  Who knew!!

One of the teams looking for a scavenger hunt item.

Anyway, after snack, we had an intense nature based scavenger hunt in which they were divided into two teams and whoever completed the list first, got first pick of the prize bag.  It was VERY close, but the winners came through when they found a squirrel tail, which appeared to be the highlight of the entire day for some kids. haha.

Finally, we made a bird feeder with pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed.  It was messy and really made for winter birds, but after seeing how the crows demolished one of my caches, I'm pretty sure some feathered friend will thoroughly enjoy them!

Overall, the day was a great success, and I think it bodes well for the future of another kids day in the watershed!

-Sally

Education Day at MacPhail Woods!

After a couple weeks of sweltering heat, we decided that the crew needed a well-deserved education day away from the watershed.  In my work with the Devil's Punchbowl, I've been looking for examples and ideas of signs in natural areas that are suitable and also durable.  Knowing that MacPhail Woods and homestead have put a lot of energy into information and trail-side signs, I was interested to see some examples currently in use.
So we loaded up my mini-van and headed east.

We started walking the trails and although there was a bit of drizzle now and then, it couldn't dampen the spirits of the crew.  The trails were so well maintained, but allowed to change and grow as nature required, it was a great day for a hike.  There was a lovely mist rising off the stream and it felt a bit like being in a movie from time to time.

Of course it was useful having Mike with us to point out important plants and share the wealth of information he has from a lifetime of working with and in the woods.

Mike even shared his owl-call!

We came across a number of small red-backed salamanders and this little toad who didn't seem to mind our intrusion at all.

On one trail there was a large clay deposit, which I thought was really interesting.

MacPhail woods has created a pamphlet that walks you through the trails, pointing out significant natural elements, like the largest hemlock on the property (it was HUGE). Jake really LOVED the BIG trees.  :)

Here is an example of just one of the signs that are displayed along one of the trails.  The mosquitoes were fierce with the warm rain, so we snapped the pictures and read the signs later!

Here is a blue bead lily, which are a native species and quite common along the trails.  They really caught my eye since they look like large blueberries, but believe me, they're not!

There is an information centre as well, with some really interesting animals to look it (taxidermy form of course).  A wide variety of owls and waterfowl, as well as a coyote and then this HUGE slice of an old tree, where the rings have been counted to determine it's age.  The innermost ring is marked 1679.  Wow.

Overall, it was a hugely successful day, with everyone learning and loving nature.  It was a well-deserved break, but it was also a great opportunity to expand our knowledge a bit too.

-Sally

TOSH @ D.P.

On Friday, June 4, TREC hosted about 90 grade 10 students from Three Oaks Senior High School at the Devil's Punchbowl.  It was a day organized by Rochelle Sullivan, an actively involved science teacher at the school who lives in the area and believes that the Punchbowl has a lot to share with the general public.

We decided to divide the kids into three groups and cover as much of what goes on at the Punchbowl as possible.  One of us did the forest walk up around the punchbowl itself, emphasizing systems and how they function in a healthy forest.  Another one of us took the riparian trail down by the stream and spoke about the history of the area as well as riparian importance, relating it to a systems approach like organic farming.  Finally, the last group helped to plant trees and work in the tree nursery.  Overall I think it was a great day and magically, it didn't rain!  With all the rain we've seen lately, I was sure we would be soaked, but the community outreach gods were looking favorably upon us that day.

Later, we discussed the importance of more interaction with groups of the public like that, and in particular school age kids. They are happy to have a day off school and so excited to be away from the classroom, but at the same time so receptive to the information.  I was shocked at how well they listened and how much respect they seemed to show not only me as a speaker, but to the surroundings as well. 

In all, I thought it was a great success.  Earlier in the week I found myself with a lot of anxiety about it and trying to dig up more concrete information because I didn't trust that I had enough information to keep the attention of 16 year olds, but in reality, they were interested or at least were good at appearing interested in everything I was interested in.  So, success, right?!

CAMP

Community Aquatic Monitoring Program (CAMP) is run by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and happens in 11 sites around the Maritimes.  What it involves is taking representative samples of fish populations in specific areas and keeping track of what is found where.

A pipefish-relative of the seahorse!  It has the same head shape.  It was a pleasant surprise to find lots of these in a couple of the sample areas,as they used to be very rare.  

Trout River is fortunate to have been a part of the program for many years and this year is no exception.  Once a month, reps from DFO and TREC (and any interested community members!) get together, throw a big net out into the water, drag it in and count the bounty.  Since it was my first time and it was a BITTERLY cold day, I took the job of recording the numbers and I have to say, it was really interesting.

  It was sad to see how much sea lettuce there was in some places so early in the year.  This is something that TREC would really like to see reduced, but it is a very difficult problem to cope with and solve.  The good news though, was that not all sites had sea lettuce.  There were a couple that very nearly completely free of the algae, so it's not all bad news.

  After we count the fish and toss them back in the water, it's time to take a quadrant count of the plant life at the bottom of the river.  Randy, the head of the program for the area, tosses the quadrant out and looks to see what is living down below.  In many cases there were high counts of sea lettuce, but often there was eelgrass or nothing at all.  It was another really interesting aspect of the day.  

Here is the TREC crew hard at work, putting the heavy net back into the container.  Despite the chill, the wind and occasional spit of rain, it was a fascinating day and I would highly recommend anyone to come participate!!

-Sally

Devil's Punchbowl

Every place has it's hidden treasure. Whether it's a special park, a look out, a museum or a fleeting thing like northern lights, those who live there value the spaces and places and wonder why everyone else doesn't know about them.  Well, I found one today.  I've driven by the old wooden sign on the Rattenbury Road in central PEI that says, "Devil's Punchbowl" lots of times and never bothered to drive in. I'm so glad I didn't drive by yet again today.

 I aimlessly headed down one of the many trails and was greeted with that ever-unique scent of a forest allowed to be itself without intervention.  You know that freshness, but dankness that fills you up and makes you take deeper, slower breaths.  And it wasn't just my sense of smell that was piqued; my eyes filled up on the greenness of the lush mosses, the texture of yellow birch's bark; my ears were alive with the sounds of song birds and trickling brooks; my fingers tickled by the prickly spruce needles, the damp softness of moss.  I even chewed on a fir needle at one point, letting myself dream of Christmas for a second.

As I was quietly taking it all in, I began to wonder if I could reap some bounty from this precious place; fiddleheads.  But alas, either I was too early, too late or didn't know what I was looking for.  I found a few varieties of fern that I know were NOT the ostrich fern (the yummy ones), but like searching for mayflowers with my dad, maybe I "couldn't see for looking". 

This is just a taste of what the Devil's Punchbowl has to offer in this too-fast, fossil fuel based world.  More pictures and history to follow.

And so it begins!

Ah, a fresh new page, akin to the newness of a blank scribbler on the first day of class. It won't take long for it to fill up with doodles and rips and eraser smears, but right now, in this moment, it's untarnished and perfect. Sort of like the rivers under the care of the Trout River Environmental Committee (TREC) so very many years ago. But over time, they too accumulated tears and smears and unwanted garbage. It is TREC's dream to restore and conserve the natural integrity of the rivers and watersheds, with the help of all stakeholders (fishers, farmers, tourism operators, cottage owners and citizens of the area).
"The Trout River Environmental Committee Inc. (TREC) is a volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan, community-based watershed improvement group that was originally formed in 1993. TREC was later incorporated on March 4th, 1999 with the stated purpose of restoring and conserving the natural integrity of the Trout River watershed and to promote good environmental stewardship in the drainage basin."

Each year TREC takes on specific projects, while maintaining that huge goal at the forefront. Agriculture has become a focus in the last few years, with significant effort going towards encouraging and aiding in environmental stewardship projects with farmers. A lot of trees have been planted, buffers increased and marginal land removed from production. This year, we hope to see more of the same and increased awareness as to what we can do for you, as stakeholders in our watersheds. This is not to mention the Devil's Punchbowl initiative or the tranquil Trout River Park (from which today's picture came) or many of the other projects that TREC has taken on.

So much has been done in the community, but there is still much to do, so this blog will begin to chronicle just a few things that have made a difference in the past and the ongoing initiatives which continue to contribute to the health and vibrancy of the river system in the Stanley Bridge area.

Check back often for more, and for a picture of the day/week!