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Photo of Stephen Ogden, Dr John Bacher and Danny Beaton Nov 2008, Walk For Water Stop Site 41.
Article by John Bacher with contributions from Danny Beaton, Mohawk of the Turtle Clan.
Join us for the second annual Farmland Drainage and the Environment Conference. This year’s virtual conference will address the theme of farmland drainage effects to water and our environment.
Stay tuned with updates on Citizen's Environmental Alliance Facebook Page.
DECEMBER SESSIONS:
December 3, 2020 @ 12:00 noon eastern time
Free webinar featuring Beth Gardiner author of “Choked - Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution” - sign up HERE
We are searching for an impact-oriented, outgoing, passionate individual to grow our Beyond Coal Atlantic campaign and volunteer support system. The successful candidate must also ensure we grow to meet our organization's commitment to inclusion, diversity, and justice.
Start Date: December 1, 2020
So there I was on that sunny summer afternoon, just getting started with our Sierra Club Canada project, “Breathe Easy,” to measure air pollution all across Ottawa. I was working from home, all the windows open, when suddenly there's a cacophony of clattering noise starting up somewhere in the neighbourhood and a real stinky smell wafting into the yard and in through my windows. I investigate to find that a local hedge trimming company has unleashed a team of three ardent cutters on my adjacent neighbour's back yard. I close up all my windows and whip over to see what's going on.
Paved, gravel, natural surface – trails take on a variety of forms. They can traverse great distances into the backcountry, travel through an urban park, or roam through local neighbourhoods. Historically, trails were used for the transport of goods and livestock between local villages and towns. Walking for leisure was a luxury, mostly reserved for those with garden paths or access to local forested trails. Recreational walking grew in popularity in North America at the end of the 19th century and gained traction post-war in the 20th century. The environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s further inspired people to seek time outdoors in nature for relaxation and fitness.
Nowadays trails are tourist attractions and community refuges for outdoor recreation. Whether planning a long-day hike to a mountain lake, or a short dog-walk close to home, I love to explore new and familiar trails.
A note about wildlife…
Wildlife can be encountered at any time while on trails. Human-wildlife coexistence is integral to safe and enjoyable recreation that also promotes wildlife conservation.
What is human-wildlife coexistence?
It is a sustainable state that encourages the co-adaption of humans and wildlife that live in shared landscapes. Regarding hiking, it seeks to ensure wildlife conservation while promoting safe human recreation. When planning for your hikes, please keep the local wildlife in mind and leave no trace.
Jill's Top 3 Hikes in Manitoba:
Manitoba is ecologically much more diverse than people realize! Our province ranges from open prairie grasslands to Tundra and even borders an ocean! To outline some incredible variation in ecosystems I’ve chosen three hikes that represent three unique geographic regions and ecosystems. Black bears are common on some of the hikes that I am recommending, so make sure you know how to be wildlife smart and avoid interacting with bears. A bear habituated and used to being around people often becomes a dead bear – so being bear smart is about their safety and yours. Make sure to always check local advisories and warnings regarding weather and wildlife before heading out on your hike.
Location: Whiteshell Provincial Park
Distance: 12.6km out and back
Elevation: 210m
Type: Moderate day hike
Difficulty: Moderate (rated as difficult due to the uneven terrain).
Website: Manitoba Parks
Ecozone: Lake of the Woods, Boreal Shield
The trail begins at the Hunt Lake Parking lot and follows the Eastern edge of West Hawk Lake for the majority of the trail. West Hawk Lake was formed by a meteorite impact, making it Manitoba’s deepest lake. As a result, the terrain around the lake is rugged a features granite cliffs along the trail. There are several sections of steep rocks, a few boggy areas (especially in spring) and the terrain is generally uneven. Make sure to wear hiking boots and bring bug spray depending on the season. The majority of the hike is in the shade and next to the lake, which is great if some of your hiking companions have four legs. Make sure dogs remain on leash while hiking, since this trail is in bear country.
You’ll encounter beautiful outcrops of granite and Precambrian Canadian shield all along the hike and see trees interwoven through the rocks over time. Along this trail you’ll find cedars and the westernmost Eastern White Pine in Canada. These giant Eastern White Pines tower over the forest canopy and can be easily seen at a distance. This ecosystem is known as the Manitoba Lowlands Natural Region, and the park is classified as a Natural Park – which means that the purpose of the park is to preserve this ecosystem.
At the end of the trail you’ll find a cook shelter where you can make a fire and enjoy the views. All along the trail you’ll find stunning views and places suitable to go for a swim on a hot day.
Take your time to enjoy this hike and bring along a picnic to enjoy at the halfway point.
Location: Pisew Falls Provincial Park (74 km / 46 mi. south of Thompson on PTH 6)
Distance: 27.4km loop
Elevation: 678m
Type: Multi-day hike, backcountry camping
Difficulty: Difficult
Website: Manitoba Parks
Ecozone: Hayes River Upland, Boreal Shield
Come prepared for this hike as wet weather can change estimated hiking times dramatically, and signage can be difficult to follow at times. Hikers can take the slightly shorter Philips Lake Route or the Grass River route to get to Kwasitchewan Falls, Manitoba’s highest waterfall. You’ll hike amidst pine, spruce, poplar and tamarak trees.
Black bears, wolves and cougar are frequently reported in the area. Make sure to follow all hiking recommendations from Manitoba Parks and check out the First Steps section of the trail guide to know how to prepare.
Not quite ready for an overnight hike? No problem! This hike begins at Pisew Falls, which is easily accessible after a short but stunning walk along a boardwalk to the falls. The name Pisew is from the Cree word for lynx, as the hissing sound of the falls resembled that of the lynx. Continue along the Grass Trail lake side of the hike to follow a well-travelled route that Indigenous peoples showed to fur traders. Consider doing an out and back along this section of the trail, but be mindful to bring proper supplies and expect your route to take longer than expected.
Note: The backcountry campsites are also accessible by canoe.
Location: Spruce Woods Provincial Park. From Winnipeg: travel west on Highway 1, turn south on P.T.H. 5 for 29 kilometres. From P.T.H. 2 west turn north on P.T.H. 5 for 13 kilometres. Kiche Manitou is approximately 180 kilometres from Winnipeg.
Distance: 10km
Type: Loop, day hike
Difficulty: Moderate
Website: Manitoba Parks Trail Brochure
Ecozone: Lake Manitoba Plain, Aspen Parkland
Note: There is an equestrian campground for horseback riders.
Photo credit: Lawrence Medel
The trail passes through a varied landscape of sand dunes, grassland and forested area. You’ll find several species of snakes in the park along with Manitoba’s only lizard: the Prairie Skink! The trail ends at the Devil’s Punch Bowl, which gets its blue-green colour and is fed from an underground stream. While the site is known as Manitoba’s desert, it actually gets nearly twice the amount of annual precipitation of what a desert would get. This results in an interesting combination of biodiversity and the varied landscape that makes this hike visually stunning. Go in autumn, when temperatures are cooler (shade can be limited along the trail) and the fall foliage is on full display.
The full loop is 10km, but there are several other options for trails in the park. Poison ivy is prevalent in the park – stay on the trail.
Photo credit: Lawrence Medel
Join us this Fall, as our team will be taking a special hike in support of THE NATIONAL HIKE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
This nation-wide event will help re-connect people across the country with the natural world that sustains us, while raising support for the challenging work of Sierra Club Canada Foundation and our efforts to fight for urgent environmental protections.
Want to be a Hiking Hero?
1) Sign up on our CanadaHelps page as an individual or part of the Prairie Chapter Team.
2) Ask 10 friends to donate to your cause
3) Go for a hike! This can be on a mountain, on a favoured walking trail, indoors with your walking group, or even around your neighbourhood.
No plan that gets us to net zero in a reasonable time frame includes new nuclear reactors. Nuclear is far too slow and expensive to deal with the climate emergency.
So far unreported in the press, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been under assault by the Ford government. This situation is especially tragic given the historic significance of its role in environmental protection. The MNRF has evolved to become the guardian of bio-diversity in Ontario.
Evolving out of the Department of Lands and Forests, MNRF, has been characterized by its conservationist use of science. The department’s work evolved from its Forest Protection Branch created in 1911 by the then-Chief Forester of Ontario, Edmund Zavitz.
The Mohawk elder Danny Beaton (Turtle Clan) speaks on the threat posed by two environmental reviews in Ontario.
He warns,
“How many books have to be written about environmental protection or films made by David Suzuki, Ed Burtynsky, or Jacques Cousteau, before we create another environmental crisis? How many environmental disasters — Katrina, Bangladesh? How many mega projects do we need? There is an Earth crisis still unfolding from killing wild animals in China.
What prematurely kills some 500 people in Ottawa every year, and about 14,600 in Canada?
It’s air pollution. How serious is that? As I stated in an opinion piece published in the Ottawa Citizen, that’s about as deadly as the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020, about 500 people died in Ottawa from the Covid-19 virus and about 15,000 in Canada.
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Il y a quelques semaines, j'ai vu mon premier papillon de la saison. Après un hiver au climat capricieux, et au milieu de la crise sanitaire actuelle, la vue de cette jolie petite créature - d’un orange flamboyant sur l'herbe morne du printemps, avec ses ailes qui battent doucement - a été un baume pour mes yeux et mon cœur. (Ce n’était pas un papillon monarque. Je suis toujours en train de faire des recherches - peut-être était-ce un papillon belle-dame (Vanessa cardui ?))
Although inconspicuously described as “Amendment Number I to the Ontario Growth Plan”, its impact if approved would be catastrophic. Amendment No. 1, would neuter the thrust of provincially directed land use planning, since it began to have an impact in a document entitled “Design for Development” (1966). It was also described as the Toronto Centred Region Plan.
Take action now - City seeking input to build bike lanes and green infrastructure.
The City of Brampton has taken a progressive stance towards active transportation following the increasing interest in cycling seen during the ongoing pandemic. As of April 18, 2020 they have decided to temporarily close off curb lanes for vehicular traffic and, instead, install interim bike lanes along an East West travel corridor.
From usually reliable sources it appears that the provincial government is planning at the request of developers, to urbanize 2,200 hectares of Carruthers Creek. Carruthers flows into Lake Ontario in the City of Ajax, a community that has long opposed the flood of pollution such an action would bring.
Protect Carruthers Creek Headwaters
The Government of Ontario has decided to restore the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1994 (EBR), effective June 15, 2020. This is a big win for the environment. Ontario had previously suspended the key conditions of the EBR in early April. The suspension worked to eliminate public awareness of ongoing projects and the right to weigh in on environmentally significant decisions using the Environmental Registry.
This would be detrimental to those working towards greener practices.
