This one is going to be particularly fun folks

9 am to Noon this Sunday

Meet at the entrance to the RBG parking lot Old Guelph Road

See Green Arrow  http://goo.gl/maps/td47x

4 Televisions, a mattress, a couch, many buckets, lots of smaller items.  I could talk about the 41 tires but we got those out last week

Sadly this area has been used in the past as a dumping ground.  We have proven time and again that garbage attracts more garbage.  May have taken 20 years for this mess to accumulate.

So we'll get it clean and assign a steward to keep it clean.  In an era where you no longer have to pay when you discard tires, bulk pickup is done by the city for free, and people in general care more about the environment -  this may well be enough.  

But we're about comprehensive long-term solutions which is another way of saying "stewardship" - so if it's not enough we will not hesitate to up our efforts up to and including survelliance cameras in order to make sure that the Corner Brook Valley is treated with respect.

Come help us effect change.

As always gloves ad great people to work with are provided.  If you don't have proper boots let me know and I can bring some for you.

Cheers Alan

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Comment by FixOurWorld on May 3, 2013 at 12:26pm

Sunday May 5th - Princess Point/Desjardins Trail      Meet at  Green Arrow http://goo.gl/maps/PU6E5

Saturday May 11th - Desjardins Canal at Olympic Drive in Dundas      Meet at Green Arrow http://goo.gl/maps/zu3UF

Sunday May 26th - Location in Dundas to be Decided

All Cleanups run form 1 - 4 pm

Comment by FixOurWorld on April 12, 2013 at 8:04pm

Give me a heads up even if its only a possibility that you'll be joining us.  We could really use all hands on deck for this one.

Cheers Alan

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the Desjardins Trailhead at Princess Point – see the green arrow ( not the red pin) at this map link.  http://goo.gl/maps/6UGrW

Comment by FixOurWorld on April 12, 2013 at 8:03pm

April 14  Meeting spot is parking lot up the long driveway as shown by the green arrow on the map.

We're working in this location instead because this Sunday we have some key volunteers and the equipment available to go after a bunch of scrap metal dumped here in addition to the regular litter pick up that is needed.  All kinds of volunteers are needed, and its a kid friendly environment.

This area is called the Cairns Avenue Stormwater Pond and drains into Lake Jojo - (don't laugh that's really its name).  Also with all the rain - water levels are higher at Cootes than we'd like.  

Because of all what is involved we'd like to get this cleaned up in one shot and are getting an early start.

Show up for our regular cleanup time  1:00 to 4:00 or if it works out better for you, a group of us will be there starting at 10:00.  So come early and pack a lunch if you can.  Hell, we're all volunteers come and go according to whatever works for you.

As you are facing the building at the front of the Public Works Yard.  Walk up the path on the right (or east side) alongside of the baseball field, continue on around the pond on the path on the right hand side to the spot shown by the green arrow on this map  http://goo.gl/maps/ujVSL.

Comment by FixOurWorld on April 9, 2013 at 1:02am

Fix Our World Volunteers

Here's a chance to come out and help in our community!  Get your Volunteer Hours and help our Environment too :) 

Check out our Street Team Website! Sign up as a Volunteer too http://streetteamcleanup.com/

Please spread the word and get others to join our Mission! 

contact Linda if they are able to come for the Stewards of Cootes Clean up April t4h from 1pm to 4pm Meet at the Desjardins Trailhead at Princess Point – see the green arrow ( not the red pin) at this map link.  http://goo.gl/maps/6UGrW

Hey everyone,

Another terrific cleanup yesterday cleaning up Princess Point.  We hauled out concrete chunks including leg and back uprights for old benches.  Obliterated illegal firepits lest it give anyone bright ideas, and picked enough glass up from the waterline to replace all the windows in Westminister Abbey.  The Point itself is nice and clean thanks to this effort along with the effort of a couple of weeks ago.

Looking forward .... Sunshine, fresh air and the best group of people you’ll ever meet.  Throw in the satisfaction of doing good work in one of the most biodiverse sites in all of Canada and you have our next clean up Sunday April 14^th from 1 to 4pm.

Meet at the Desjardins Trailhead at Princess Point – see the green arrow ( not the red pin) at this map link.  http://goo.gl/maps/6UGrW

Give me a heads up if you think you’re coming – but walk ups are welcome.

 

Amazing photo taken late last fall at Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary as Marty Fitzpatrick says  " Sucks to be the Duck"

 

Comment by FixOurWorld on March 31, 2013 at 10:25pm

Hey Everyone,

 

We had a brilliant day finishing the cleanup of Cootes Drive Turtle Nesting Area yesterday both in terms of weather and the work we got done.  42 garbage bags. 1 tire, and 1 shopping cart and one very clean turtle habitat.  Those short little legs won't have to climb over our garbage to create the next generation of turtles.  Thanks to all who came out - it was a lot of fun working with you.

 

As promised we'll be doing these kind of clean-ups every weekend in April.  The next one will be Sunday April 7th at Princess Point from 1:00 to 4:00.  I'll have more details for you tomorrow.

 

For those interested there is another really great event going on the day before - Saturday April 6th, hosted by McMaster's Biology 4AA3 class.

 

Removal of Invasive Buckthorn and Native Tree Planting

 

Where: Lower Lions Club Road Ancaster between Wilson and Louise Drive - see spot marked on map at this link http://goo.gl/maps/fhphc

 

When: Saturday April 6th  - Come for as long as you like anytime between 9:00 and 3:00

Common Buckthorn is nasty business. 

Brought over from Europe as a garden shrub it has run amok across our natural landscape unchecked due to the absence of any natural controls in our ecosystem. 

It grows like a weed, spreads like a weed, and survives like a weed. 

Cut it down and it will resprout. Hack it out by its roots and it will send suckers back into the ground from a completely severed root ball and rise from the dead. 

It dramatically crowds out our native species, decimates biodiversity, disrupts the balance of our ecosystem and hosts insects and fungi that threaten agricultural crops.

The site for eradication is a beautiful parcel of land owned by McMaster University near Lions Club Road and Wilson Street (see map link above)

Dr. Jim Quinn’s Biology 4AA3 class has undertaken an initiative to systematically eradicate Buckthorn from Mac Forest and are looking for volunteers to use some special but simple hand tools to pull, girdle, and cut this shrub into just a bad memory.

Stewards of Cootes Watershed is excited to support this initiative because of the systematic, scientific and long-term strategy this group is employing to ensure total eradication from the property. We have seen more casual projects to remove invasives fail because anything less than total eradication just preps the ground for the invasive to re-establish itself. 

See attached pdf poster or more information

Register for this event at buckthorn.removal@gmail.com

 

Cheers Alan

 

Comment by FixOurWorld on March 31, 2013 at 9:41am

Stewards of Cootes Watershed Great Job Columbia College Students led by the Fix Our World Street Team. Thanks for all your hard work. - Alan

Comment by FixOurWorld on March 31, 2013 at 9:40am

 I'm very proud of our Street Team Youth- 40 youth came out to help! Many International Students from Columbia College! They rescued 1529 Items and countless bits of plastic, from getting into the Princess Point area Watershed! Great Job! Thank you for all your hard work  The Winners from our Teams competition are Team Dead Fish! Congratulations Team you rescued 526 Items!https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109139821660216958175/albums/585...

Comment by FixOurWorld on March 31, 2013 at 9:39am

 Our Street Team was proud to participate in the Princess Point area. We had 40 Students participate! 4 teams of 10 Students many International from Columbia College who did a fabulous job of cleaning up and documenting our findings. Thank you to our Team Leaders Jesse -Team Wh eel, Mike -Team Garbage Busters, Dakota -Team Dead Fish and Rachel Team- Bravo who were tremendous helpers in coordinating their teams. You can guess how they came up with their names. We had a competition which team picked up the most garbage would win a prize. Results soon to be completed we have photos too. Thank you Alan for coordinating this great initiative.

Comment by FixOurWorld on March 30, 2013 at 9:18pm

Links:
Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Project(external)
Eagles in the News:
Even for Eagles it's all about Location(external)
Bald Eagles Return to Lake Ontario Shore(external)
They're Big They're Bald and They're Back(external)
RBG Tries to Attract Pair of Bald Eagles(external)
RBG Protects Endangered Species(external)

Comment by FixOurWorld on March 30, 2013 at 9:18pm

The story of bald eagles at RBG (PDF)

What are eagles looking for?
A large body of water, usually a marsh larger than 30 hectares, to supply them with fish, birds and other small mammals to eat.
A relatively large patch of undisturbed mature forest (large trees) in which to nest within 0.5 km of the hunting area and at least 0.5 km from people.
A large patch of woodland in which to rest and shelter during the non nesting season. A minimum of 260 hectares of woodland is suggested as a base by the experts.
What is RBG doing?
Continuing with our wetland restoration program Project Paradise to ensure suitable hunting grounds exist in this 250 hectare marsh.
Strike a better balance between visitor access and wild spaces. This means modifying our trail network (Hopkins Loop and Grey Doe Trails) to ensure that adequate undisturbed forest exist while ensuring visitors the opportunity to experience wildlife in adjacent areas.
Erect the beginnings of a bald eagle nest in very large White Pine tree in an isolated area on the north shore of Cootes Paradise.

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