It's been a blast!

Dear Friends and Partners of EOSC;

The Eastern Ontario Stewardship Collaborative has been funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation for two years.  That time is now drawing to a close.  In these past two years we are happy to say that we have many accomplishments to be proud of,  including:

·        Increased collaboration of the seven organizations involved by providing a full time project coordinator
·        Two speaker/workshop events highlighting important conservation issues and ideas that also helped educate attendees on the various programs available
·        Thirteen completed restoration projects including wetland restoration, nest box projects, shoreline restoration, tree planting, livestock exclusion fencing, alvar restoration and more
·        Several other restoration projects that were initiated and are soon to be under way
·        Attendance at several public events where we were able to help educate people on the various stewardship and conservation programs available
·        Hundreds of phone calls with interested parties that helped educate them and distribute information
·        Partnerships in projects with other conservation organizations including shoreline restoration in the Salmon River watershed and Alvar restoration
·        Nine volunteer days involving many volunteers including frog and bird monitoring, nest box maintenance, trail maintenance and more
·        Two wetland bus tours that highlighted the importance of these ecosystems and educating participants about the various programs
·        Support of organizations within the collaborative in holding events, applying for grants and more

We would like to offer our sincere gratitude to all our volunteers, event participants, partners, landowners, the Great Lakes Guardian Fund and of course the Trillium Foundation in making this all possible.  We have had a fantastic two years and we couldn’t have done it without you!

For more information about who to contact for the various programs and initiatives in our area, please see our newly posted ‘resource organizations’ link located at the upper right of this web page.

Thank you and bye for now!

Sincerely,
Lesley and the EOSC committee

Free Wetland Bus Tours in May!

Get out and see local wetlands and learn why they are so important!  Book your spot soon so you don't  miss out!

Nest Box Surveys

Hello friends of EOSC!
Three days of checking nest boxes at three different locations are available in February for willing volunteers.  Don't miss your chance to experience wetlands in their winter state- and help out ducks at the same time!  Please see our volunteer web page and/or contact us for more info or to register.

Tis the season for construction!

EOSC is very excited that several of our projects are being implemented this month and next!  Our first pond excavation with Ducks Unlimited broke ground with about 5 more coming very soon!

We are also undertaking an alvar restoration this week with Nature Conservancy Canada!  Volunteers are still welcome!

Nest boxes

Hello landowners!
Any easy and fun way to help wildlife on your property is to erect next boxes!  Many kinds of wildlife nest naturally in cavities in large trees.  However, large trees with cavities have become more rare due to forest clearing and other pressures.  Nest boxes are a way to provide that missing habitat and help wildlife flurish.

Thanks to the Hastings Stewardship Council, EOSC has a limited number of flying squirrel and bluebird nest boxes free to landowners with the right kind of habitat!  Just call to ask if you might have the right habitat.

 Also, nest boxes for wood ducks and other cavity nesters are available through EOSC and Ducks Unlimited.  Landowners with large wetlands may be eligible to receive the boxes for free.  Otherwise the boxes with poles, predator guards, hardware and guides are available for purchase to anyone with a good spot.  Again, just ask!  There is also the opportunity to participate in nest box monitoring with Ducks Unlimited and contribute to the collection of important data used to help protect waterfowl and other wildlife.

If you want to make your own next boxes, we are happy to share info and plans for all the above types as well as the very important bat boxes!  What a great week-end project to do with the kids/grandkids!