July 2010 - The Local Scoop - Mid-Summer Scoop
The only paradise is paradise lost (Marcel Proust)
It will be an all-day car pool tour, meeting at Oak Hills Farm, between Port Hope and Peterborough, at 9:30 a.m. and visiting three sites in Northumberland County:
Oak Hills Farm is a new prairie, planted in May 2008, which won a NANPS Garden Award in 2009. There is a cottage on 100 acre lot overlooking Rice Lake. The site also includes a collection of over 100 native Ontario trees and shrubs. The owner, John Oyston, will be there to explain how to plant a prairie garden and give a site tour. Gavin Trevelyan, former Eastern Co-ordinator for Tallgrass Ontario, will give an overview of the importance of prairies in Ontario.
We will then drive to Alderville Black Oak Savanna, to see the largest piece of this type of habitat in Southern Ontario. This authentic prairie site on First Nations property could have become a gravel pit. Instead it has been carefully maintained with controlled burns, and extended using plants grown from seeds collected on site. Janine McLeod, the Natural Heritage Co-ordinator, will show us the highlights and explain their conservation program.
The final stop will be Red Cloud Pioneer Cemetery. Ed Heuval, the project manager for the site, will talk about the unique challenges of maintaining a property which is both a burying ground and an important prairie remnant. He also promises to make us some herbal tea using prairie plants!
Practical details: We are meeting at Oak Hills Farm at 9:30 a.m. Allow 90 minutes to drive from Yorkdale Mall in Toronto or 20 minutes from Port Hope. The round trip from Toronto will be just over 300kms. You should get back to Toronto about 7 p.m. Full directions and a detailed map will be provided on registration.
Bring a picnic lunch. There are picnic tables and washrooms at Oak Hills and Alderville. There will be a small charge ($15 for members, $25 for non members) to cover admissions and expenses.
It should be a great day! Registration is limited so please sign up now by completing the attached form and mailing it with a cheque to John Oyston (NANPS Excursions) at 18 Whitehall Rd, Toronto, ON, M4W 2C6. For questions, email excursions@nanps.org or leaving a message for John Oyston at 416-972-1292.
An opportunity to visit three different styles of prairie in one day, with experienced guides including Tallgrass Prairie Expert Gavin Trevelyan to provide interpretation and local guides for each site.
RED CLOUD
Pioneer Cemetery
This small prairie remnant has been carefully preserved by volunteers, and saved from mowing or agricultural use.
Guide: Ed Heuval, Project Manager
Red Cloud Cemetery/Prairie
OAK HILLS FARM
A Re-created Prairie
Less than 3% of Ontario's tallgrass prairie survives, so more prairie habitat needs to be created. This 3 acre private site overlooking Rice Lake won a NANPS Garden Award in 2009.
Guide: John Oyston, Owner
ALDERVILLE BLACK OAK SAVANNA
A tallgrass prairie and savanna being preserved and restored on First Nations land. This is the largest remnant of this endangered ecosystem found in central Ontario.
Guide: Janine McLeod, Natural Heritage Coordinator
Invasive Species Control with Forestry Crew
Sunday August 8, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Presented by the PPS Review Collaborative (Ontario Nature, Ecojustice, Ducks Unlimited Canada, CELA, CIELAP, Pembina Institute, Ontario Smart Growth Network and the Ontario Headwaters Institute) with presentations from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Wednesday, August 11, 1 to 4 p.m.
Northern District Library, Room 224 ABC, 40 Orchard View Boulevard, Toronto (Yonge and Eglinton)
Details and RSVP
Saturday, August 14, 9:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. (each walk lasts 2.5 hours)
Location: Rouge Park
Host: Rouge Park
Two free guided walks open to the public. The hikes will take place on different trails, so some of the plants encountered on each walk will be different.
Details
Classroom study: August 16 & 17
Field study: August 23 & 24
Saturday, August 21, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Tommy Thompson Park (TTP), Toronto waterfront
Free guided walks and activities with birds and butterflies. Butterfly migration hikes, butterfly tagging demonstrations, wildflower plantings on site, birds of prey program, building birdhouses, etc. Details
[Workshop]
Saturday, August 21 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 pm
Location: High Park Host: The P.I.N.E. Project
Saturday October 9, 2010
9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Learn to identify many of the fascinating mushrooms and other fungi found on the Oak Ridges Moraine with Richard Aaron. Suitable for all levels of experience.
Sunday October 10, 2010
11 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
More than the sum of its parts, a forest is a complex community whose members struggle for light, water and minerals. Hear Dr. Sean Thomas, U of T professor of forest ecology, tell the story of how trees in the old growth get to be old.
