CONTENTS
September 1994
General Motors Invites School Participation
Adopt-A-Pond Certificate Presented to MtrCA
Cleaning Up No Name Creek
Friends of Mud Lake Pledge
Federation of Ontaio Naturalists Revises Popular Why Wetlands Education Kit
General Motors of Canada Invites School Participation in Wetland Protection
The Oshawa Second Marsh is an excellent example of one of the few lacustrine wetland systems remaining along the north shore of Lake Ontario. A provincially significant wetland the area provides valuable habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife including amphibians. The marsh has been under pressure for alternate uses since the 1970's, when the Ministry of Transportation proposed the creation of a port for use by sea fairing ships entering the Great Lakes system from the St. Lawrence. Jim Richards, now Manager of the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve, owned and operated by General Motors of Canada, was one of the first individuals to campaign for the protection of the Second Marsh. Enlisting community support through the creation of the Second Marsh Defense Association, and garnering media attention, eventually lead to the abatement of proposed development plans.
Today, Jim is still actively working to protect and restore the value of the Second Marsh for both human recreation and wildlife. General Motors has invested time and effort into creating a wildlife reserve that can be enjoyed by the entire community. Shrubs have been planted, and a system of nature trails allow access to the marsh while keeping impact on sensitive shoreline areas to a minimum. Use of the marsh for recreation and educational purposes is advocated, and recently a local school adopted a pond on the General Motors site.
With a rich and diverse wetland ecosystem in such close proximity to Dr. F. J. Mac Donald High School in Oshawa, the possibilities for Margo Palmeters Grade 12 Environmental Science class seemed unlimited. The class visited the area for the first time in the spring of 1993 with the objective of mapping the location of ponds on the GM property and conducting an inventory of the amphibians and other wildlife. The class set out armed with maps, field guides, thermometers and containers for collecting water samples. The day was very successful as students located two ponds containing American toad tadpoles and one containing leopard frogs. The students at Dr. F. J. Mac Donald will continue to renew their commitment each year as they return to monitor amphibians and other wildlife in the area.
The following photos highlight the efforts of students visiting the General Motors Pond. In addition the remainder of this edition of Amphibian Voice presents a sampling of the poems, pictures, photographs, drawings and short stories that you have sent us over the last year. We hope you enjoy it, and look forward to hearing from you again in the future!!
Adopt-A-Pond Certificate Presented to MtrCA
Each year the Metro Toronto Zoo's Adopt-a-Pond wetland conservation programme awards a certificate of appreciation to non-school organizations or corporations in recognition of innovative wetland conservation projects. In 1994 General Motors and refuge manager, Jim Richards, were the recipient of the first such award for the protection and management of the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Refuge.
In 1994 after visiting Col. Sam Smith Park in Etobicoke with MtrCA representatives Gord MacPherson and Jennifer vincent, the Metro Toronto Zoo's Adopt-A-Pond programme recognized the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (MtrCA) and partners with a certificate of appreciation for the design and implementation of the Colonel Sam Smith Wetland complex. Partners with the MtrCA in this innovative project include Environment Canada's Great Lakes Cleanup Fund, Ministry of the Environment and Energy, Ministry of Natural Resources and the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.
After targetting the rehabilitation of fish habitat, the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) partners for the Lake Ontario shoreline within Metropolitan Toronto, have been encouraged to consider other terrestrial and aquatic species that may benefit from the Great Lakes rehabilitation projects. Although MtrCA and partners are involved in seven habitat rehabilitation projects within Metro Toronto's waterfront parks, Etobicoke's Colonel Sam Smith waterfront park includes a wetland, turtle nesting habitat, mud flats, and snake hibernaculum as components of a diversity of wildlife habitats. It is for this reason the innovatiove project has been recognized by Metro Toronto Zoo's Adopt-A-Pond programme. CONGRATULATIONS to all five partners!
Cleaning up No Name Creek
by Grant Hopkins
Grade 6 student
Our Lady of Fatima School
Bellville, Ontario
Last Spring, Mrs. Sosiak our environmental club teacher, attended Mr. Johnson's Adopt-A-Pond workshop at the Metro Toronto Zoo. She then introduced the idea to us at school. We wanted to do something to improve the frog habitat in our area. Since we had unsuccessfully attempted to build a pond in our schoolyard the year before, we opted for a creek near our school. We chose this one called, "no name creek", because many of us had seen frogs there in other years. A group of us then went to visit it after school with Mrs. Sosiak. We found it was a real mess. There was so much garbage in it that we could hardly see the creek - not a very good home for frogs or for anything else! So we went back to school and decided to organize a clean up. We made posters to advertise it. We also went to the Public Works Office to tell them about our project. The creek runs through their property and we wanted them to know about the frogs so they would be more careful with their garbage.
In the meantime students who lived near the area were assigned evenings to go and listen for frogs. They listened to Mr. Johnson's tape so that they would recognize the calls. They heard spring peepers, chorus frogs, and later bull frogs. On our clean up day, we had representatives from every class, as well as some interested parents, join in. We worked for most of the afternoon. Some people from the Public Works building helped out as well. We were glad that they seemed interested in the frogs habitat too. The most exciting part of the clean up was discovering hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles, and knowing that we were making their home a little bit cleaner. Students continued to monitor the creek and reported back to their individual classes. Many classes studied the life cycle of frogs and toads.
Students have continued to visit the area and maintain reports on the wildlife they see, since their first visit to no-name creek in 1992. Grant Hopkins has been chosen as the student representative for the school and keeps the Zoo's Amphibian Interest Group up to date with the schools activities.
The following pledge was made by the students of Regina School in Ottawa and appears in every classroom as a reminder of their commitment to protect Mud Lake and its wildlife.
We are the Friends of Mud Lake
If we are quiet we can hear...
Songs of red-winged black birds
and of chickadees,
Honking geese and buzzing bees
If we are patient we can see...
Mother Mallard and her brood
busy beavers cutting trees
dragonflies, bright blue in colour
Great Blue Heron standing tall.
If we are careful we can touch...
Frogs and toads and salamander
Bark and moss and fungus too...
Turtle shells and tiny tadpoles
Waterstriders, snakes and such.
Yes...
if we are quiet and patient and
careful
Then...
We truly are Mud Lake friends
Federation of Ontario Naturalists Revises Popular Why Wetlands Education Kit
WHY WETLANDS EDUCATION?
In 1982 The Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) produced the original version of the Why Wetlands? Educational Kit. Over the years, many thousands of Ontario school children in junior grades have been learning about Ontario wetlands - what they are, why they are important parts of the ecosystem, how they are being threatened and what is being done to protect them. It is the FON's belief that teaching young people about wetlands is one way of helping to prepare for a more informed, motivated and active future for wetlands protection.
Twelve years after the first kit was produced, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists remains committed to teaching young people about wetlands. Understanding the importance of wetlands is still essential and the need for wetland protection has not disappeared. Politically, wetlands have received more attention than ever before. Canada is the first nation to have a wetlands policy and Ontario is the first province to have passed a wetlands policy. A wetlands classification system has been implemented across Ontario whereby wetlands have been ranked according to their features on a scale of 1-7. Class 1, 2 and 3 wetlands are given priority under the new policy. A policy does not have the teeth of legislation and the loss of Ontario wetlands is still a serious concern.
In response to these concerns, a completely revised and updated Why Wetlands? kit has been produced by the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. This kit helps to respond to the continued requests of teachers over the years for good quality, Ontario-based materials that meet the needs of the curriculum.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Using the Why Wetlands? Education Kit is one way of increasing public awareness about wetlands. It has been designed to provide the material necessary for teaching junior/intermediate level students about wetland topics. Knowledge, skills and attitudes are all key ingredients for learning about wetlands. The lessons have been correlated with the Ontario Ministry of Education's document, The Common Curriculum (1993). You will find a wide range of learning outcomes, covering many different subject areas.
The FON's major goal in the production of the Why Wetlands? Kit is not just to enable a student to recognize a wetland and recite something relevant about it; we hope the student will use his or her knowledge to do something. Channelling students' energies and knowledge into meaningful activity is an excellent way of creating a successful education program. Show them that they also have a role in developing public awareness about wetlands. Display projects and other work not only around the school, but also in the community (public libraries, banks, shopping malls etc.), and continue your involvement in the Zoo's Adopt-A-Pond program.
The students you teach today are the decision makers of the future. It is vital that they have the knowledge with which to make those decisions.