Thoughts from a Bog Dweller

Monarch Butterfly on aster
 My parents instilled in my brother and me a deep and abiding love for nature.  Don’t worry - I’m not going to tell you that when we were young, we had to walk 10 miles to school, uphill – both ways.  But I will say that the best days of our childhood in the 1960s were spent playing outside, seeing all the life in the creek and all the milkweed in the fields, walking through the woods with our Dad to find – (but never pick! We were taught that too!) - Lady’s Slippers, hearing the whip-poor-will at night, seeing the sky full of bats at dusk, and never wanting the day to end.  We were fortunate, because my parents, both hard workers their entire lives, made time to show us places of incredible beauty, and pass down to us their respect for the environment.  While visiting Luther Marsh and Oliphant Marsh, my Mom never failed to declare, “I love marshes”.  Years later, I discovered that the original meaning of my surname is “Bog Dweller”.  So given all that, perhaps it is not surprising that when Chantal Thejin put out a call for volunteers to help with writing a grant application to support a community-based Wetland Restoration and Conservation Project at the Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge Property, I took to it like a duck to water, so to speak! 

However, nothing prepared me for the excitement and building momentum I would feel as I saw Chantal’s incredible vision and drive, the enthusiasm of the many incredible young people and biologists who have volunteered their time and expertise to this project, the wonderful support offered by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Long Point Region Conservation Authority, and Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, and the amazingly positive feedback received from many members of the public.  The excitement was infectious!


deer in the meadow
Every one of those supporters can see the value of this project, not only for addressing the immediate environmental issue and need, but for the legacy it will leave for many years into the future.  The volunteers on this project are excited by the possibility of being able to share their experiences, knowledge, skills, and wisdom, so that others will feel inspired and be able to do this type of work.  They see how the knowledge passed along to others will be incredibly helpful in raising awareness of the environmental issue and why community projects, such as this one, are so vitally important.

Our project is all about freshwater and wetlands!  The volunteer ecologists, conservationists, and wildlife biologists on this project will be able to share their amazing wealth of knowledge with you.  I am so excited to learn from them!!  I will just share with you a brief introduction to the project.  Wetlands provide vital services to freshwater systems in Ontario, such as regulating water quality, buffering water flows during droughts and floods, capturing atmospheric carbon, and providing rich habitat for plants and wildlife.  Some of the water quality issues in the Great Lakes have been caused by agricultural runoff, meaning runoff of nutrients like phosphorus, which causes algal blooms and other water quality issues for everyone - humans, companion animals, and wildlife.  Wetlands can capture nutrients before they enter downstream water bodies – they can remove pollutants and purify freshwater.  So the restoration of damaged wetland has the potential to greatly improve the quality of freshwater systems and restore their many beneficial functions.  And wetlands are amazing areas of incredible biodiversity!  They provide habitat and migration stopovers for many species of wildlife, including unique, rare and At-Risk species.  By retaining water, wetlands slowly release a continual source of freshwater for streams, providing habitat for fish and other animals during times of drought – something that is becoming more and more important.

The accidental meadow at Hobbitstee
The 49-acre property at Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge had been farmed for many years.  It contains 11 acres of wetland, part of the Peacock Point Wetland.  In 2008, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry conducted an “Ontario Wetland Evaluation System” (OWES) on this wetland, and designated portions of it to be “Provincially-Significant Wetland” (PSW), meaning it contains many unique and valuable features.  For example, the OWES documented the presence of several Provincially-significant plant species, including Halberd-Leaved Tearthumb and Black Gum, and the presence of Endangered wildlife species such as the Red-headed Woodpecker.  Before this property was first farmed in the 1830’s, the entire area would have been teeming with an amazing biodiversity of plants and animals!  

But as you may already know, more than 72% of wetlands in Ontario have disappeared since the early 1800s due to land conversion, drainage and altered hydrology, agricultural runoff, urban development, pollution, climate change, invasive species - and lack of foresight and planning.  In Norfolk-Haldimand Counties, 82.1% (177,078 acres) of the original pre-settlement wetland had been wiped out by 2002 (Ducks Unlimited. 2010).  Haldimand County has seen very few projects to restore wetland, despite its geographical location within an environmentally important region of Canada, and its proximity to the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve in Norfolk County, designated as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in April, 1986.

Parts of the wetland that still remain on the Hobbitstee Wildlife Property have been damaged by agricultural activities.  When Chantal purchased this property, she saw the potential to restore the damaged wetland, as well as the surrounding land degraded by agricultural activities.  The property contains many vernal pools, unique wetlands that provide rich habitat for wildlife, including Dragonflies, turtles, Jefferson salamanders, and frogs (Colburn, E.A., 2004. Vernal Pools: Natural History and Conservation.  McDonald and Woodward Publishing, 426pp).  The vernal pools provide rich habitat for the Western Chorus Frog in the spring, whose populations throughout the entire Great Lakes/ St. Lawrence-Canadian Shield regions are Threatened (Paradis, S. 2001. WWF-Canada https://wwf.ca/stories).  Chantal envisioned how the damaged wetland and vernal pools could be restored, and how surrounding fallow land could be allowed to return to meadow to support habitat for native pollinators, arial insectivores, and migrating insects.  She envisioned how the restoration activities could enrich habitat for wildlife.  And she foresaw the importance of this work, not only in conserving and protecting this ecologically-sensitive region for many years into the future, but in inspiring others to join in community-supported restoration and conservation activities.  As she relayed her vision to others, it didn’t take long before the project took flight, growing into an all-volunteer community endeavour, with the support and help of many volunteers willing to donate their valuable time and expertise to this project.

Under the guidance and training of the more than 8 volunteer biologists dedicating their skills, traditional indigenous knowledge and scientific expertise to this project, the volunteers will begin the wetland restoration by removing invasive plant species, and by planting native shrubs, trees and plants around the wetland and the vernal pools.  Around the borders of the wetland, volunteers will also create a buffer, consisting of planted native vegetation and natural vegetation, that will divert nutrients and absorb any potential runoff from surrounding agricultural activities.  Habitat will be improved for wildlife by adding nesting boxes for birds, and by adding logs and large rocks for turtles and frogs in the wetland and in the vernal pools and meadows of the former farmland.  All of these efforts will be documented, and surveys will be performed to measure how the restoration activities are improving biodiversity and increasing the presence of plant and animal species.  Using their eyes, as well as acoustic recorders, echo-acoustic recorders, and wildlife cameras, volunteers will be on the lookout both day and night for birds, bats, amphibians, reptiles, and rare and At-Risk species.  Wetland recovery may take many years, but there is such excitement to know that over the course of the next 3 years, we will begin to see evidence that the restoration activities are improving the freshwater ecosystem.

Brown Saddlebag Dragon fly

Our beautiful province of Ontario is certainly growing, and people need housing, food and clean water.  Many thanks to our Ontario farmers for the food they provide us.  Like many of you, I strive to do my part – recycle, reuse, plant a pollinator-friendly garden...  But personally, after hearing all this depressing news about wetland loss for so long, I was feeling depressed and hopeless, and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problems.  But then, when Chantal started describing her vision for wetland restoration, and as I saw how so many other people were inspired and eager to contribute to this project, and when I learned about all the amazing activities that the volunteers are planning to do - my heart started to pound, like I’d had way too much coffee….  And I realized, for the first time in a very long time, I was feeling …. HOPE!!!

Working as a grateful volunteer on this amazing project has made me realize that there are so many people our there who share the common desire to protect our wetlands and freshwater into the future, and move forward with smarter, informed planning.  Many of you may already be working on community projects.  For me, it was wonderful to experience that renewed sense of hope in realizing that there are many people out there who want to work together to reverse damages and restore wetland!  I cannot wait to see how this project unfolds over the next few years!   I will be living up to my Bog Dweller name, asking many questions, trying to observe and learn as much as possible.  I know that the project team will be very happy to answer your questions, and to invite you to come and participate in a tour of the Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge Property to view the restoration activities in progress, and enjoy the natural beauty of the wetland!!  I hope that this project will inspire in you the same wonderful feelings of hope and excitement that it has inspired in me!!!

-Lisa Bog-Dweller


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