Windsor Ontario News / Nature

Lilies offer spectacular sight

One of the most spectacular native local plants right now is at its peak and in full bloom.

It’s the American Lotus water lily, which used to be quite rare but is making a comeback in River Canard and Big Creek.

These are absolutely huge and verdant lilies, with stems often sticking a foot out of the water and in giant patches which provide a feast for the eyes of anyone who likes to look at healthy and bountiful nature.

Dan Lebedyk, conservation biologist at Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), says Essex County has “probably Ontario’s largest population” of the lilies, which bloom in a white flower.

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Jackson Park, now (kind of) divided, to be reunited

Jackson Park is about to be joined up again.

It might not be noticeable to motorists zooming over the Ouellette Avenue overpass every day that the parks on the west and east sides of Ouellette – south of Tecumseh Rd. – are the one and the same Jackson Park.

“It’s all Jackson Park,” Mike Clement, the city’s parks development manager says.

And now the two halves, broken up back in the 1960s when the Ouellette Ave. overpass was built, are about to be formally reunited.

“It used to be one full park,” Clement said.

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Trails could connect Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent

In the next five years Windsor, Essex County and Chatham-Kent might start seeing “connections” to various walking and cycling trails.

But a more comprehensive network linking city and county municipalities wouldn’t be completed for another two decades.

Meanwhile the County Wide Active Transportation Study (CWATS) is preparing its master plan, to be ready this fall that will recommend where trail networks should go.

Jane Mustac, the county’s environmental assessment coordinator, says trails now exist in individual communities.

The problem is that they usually don’t link to trails in other municipalities, providing little or non-existent “active” transportation routes in the region.

“What we want to do is get a network of on and off road connections between the municipalities.”

For example, County Rd. 20 between Windsor and Amherstburg is often used by cyclists out for a Sunday ride.

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It's burn baby burn to preserve all those rare plant species

If you’re driving along Matchette Road and look across to the natural heritage Prairie site and notice that it looks burned out - eliminating those precious rare plant species - don’t be alarmed.

Yes, the area has been burned.

But that burning, done every few years, has to be done to make sure all the significant plant growth continues to flourish.

If it’s not done, says Jim Wigle of the Ministry of Natural Resources and assistant superintendent of Wheatley Provincial Park, which conducts the burn, “it will turn into forest.” The burn is done to eliminate competing vegetation that interferes with the significant plant life.

Sandy Dobbyn, the ministry’s southwestern Ontario ecologist, says burning the competing vegetation also allows more light to penetrate, nurturing those rare plant species.

Even some large trees were burned in the fire but, again, those species are expendable. Oak trees, by contrast - and of which there are many as part of a savannah – “are resistant (and) have a much thicker bark,” Dobbyn said.

The burn was conducted April 15 and covered 60 hectares.

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Caution: slow moving turtles!

You’ve seen correctly.

That yellow highway caution sign did have a turtle drawing on it.

The signs went up along County Rd 20 near the Detroit River and River Canard, and County Rd 8 near Villanova HS and River Canard.

They also went up along County Rd 20 south of Amherstburg by Big Creek.

These areas, you see, are well-known turtle crossings.

And, yes, the signs are designed to let motorists slow down and look out for, well, turtles crossing the road.

County engineer Tom Bateman says the summer months are mating season for turtles, and they often migrate across a roadway from one part of a wetland to another.

And, as we all know, a turtle isn’t as fast as a hare.

So the advice to motorists – slow down!

Some turtles can actually do sizable damage to a vehicle.

Bateman says he has seen snapping turtles with a two foot diameter shell.

“Certainly a good size snapping turtle can be a hazard in particular to somebody on a motorcycle or even a small car.”

The county was provided the signs gratis from an Ottawa-area turtle conservation group, Turtle S.H.E.L.L. Tortue.

The group raises awareness of turtle nesting areas to protect and preserve them for future generations.

Some River Canard residents, who had seen turtles destroyed on the highway, put the organization in touch with the county.

The signs will be taken down by fall.

Bateman says having signs installed for only part of the year helps keep the issue “on the forefront” of drivers’ awareness.

For the group's web site click here.

In spring, look for Detroit River "blueways"

We’ve all heard of greenways. There’s the Chrysler Greenway. Leamington even has its own greenway.

These are pathways through nature that walkers, runners and cyclists can use to enjoy the scenery and get some exercise.

But have you ever heard of blueways?

The Essex Region Conservation Authority is working on creating a number of water paths. These would be similar to greenways in that they’re designed to go though natural areas.

The difference is that the people who would use them would mainly be canoeists and kayakers.

ERCA’s managing director of conservation areas Kevin Money says the Detroit River and watershed is an ideal location for the development of blueways.

ERCA is even putting together a map showing canoe and kayak access points.

“It’s a nice resource for people, right?” he said. “Where can you get in and where can you kayak to, and where are those public areas” such as conservation areas, parks and docks.

Money said there are about 15 locations along the river – “kind of from Peche Island all the way down to Lake Erie.”

One great canoeing route of course is the Canard River.

While not accessible from the Detroit River, Money said a “stunning” body of water is Cedar Creek.

“If you’ve ever canoed or kayaked down there you’d be amazed at how rich the flora and fauna is,” he said. “You wouldn’t think you’re in Essex County. Both sides of the river have nice mature forests right up to them.”

WindsorOntarioNews.com

Visitor-friendly signs at nature areas

New signs along trails in west Windsor’s five natural areas are increasing visitors’ knowledge of the unique flora, fauna and wildlife.

The signs were installed this year on trails in what’s known as the Ojibway Prairie Complex, made up of closely-located Black Oak Heritage Park, Ojibway Park, Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve, and Spring Garden Natural Area – 350 hectares.

Despite the fact the areas have been reserves for decades there had been essentially no interpretative signs along the trails.

“We had a lot of information in the centre but nothing out on the trails,” assistant naturalist Karen Cedar said.

The signs help people navigate around the parks and show the significance of the natural elements around them.

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LaSalle boardwalk of a different kind

The boardwalk is in the small and almost unnoticed conservation area, Petite Cote in LaSalle, which the Essex Region Conservation Authority built in 2007 and is a provincially significant wetland. That's rare on the Detroit River.

The main recycled components of the boards are grocery bags and sawdust.

Kevin Money, ERCA’s managing director of conservation, said the recycled material cost about one-third more than real wood but it also has “probably twice the lifespan.”

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