Bowen’s Creek Reforestation Project

The Great Lakes Sustainability Fund awarded a $38,700 grant to the Conservation Authority to continue its efforts in planting trees and shrubs in the St. Clair River Area of Concern. The funds were used to reforest areas such as the Bowen’s Creek property on the St. Clair River. This property is owned by the County of Lambton and connects to an existing 272 hectare upland forest. This project contributed to the St. Clair River Remedial Action Plan goal of planting 440 hectares of upland forest. To date, 147 hectares have been planted.

Terra Naturalization Project

The 50 acre naturalization project includes trees and shrubs, tall grass prairie and wetlands. Terra provided the land and the work was carried out by the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, Rural Lambton Stewardship Network and Ducks Unlimited Canada. Funding came from St. Clair Township, the Province of Ontario, Ontario Stewardship, North American Waterfowl Management Fund, Great Lakes Sustainability Fund and the Ontario Great Lakes Renewal Foundation.

The Conservation Authority continues to work with Dow Chemical Canada to enhance the wetlands created by Dow in 2000 - 2002. Over the last several years, 15,000 trees and shrubs have been planted to enhance the wetlands which were created to treat runoff water from the surrounding land. Interpretive signage has been added to the site and a brochure provides for a self-guided walk through the wetland. This project was funded by Dow Chemical with financial assistance from the Ontario Great Lakes Renewal Foundation. In addition to the wetlands, more than 80,000 trees and shrubs have been planted on Dow-owned lands along the Highway 40 corridor.

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The Suncor Energy Foundation donated $100,000 to the City of Sarnia to provide a millennium legacy gift to the Sarnia-Lambton community. The project helped add a conservation twist to a storm water management pond constructed immediately west of the Wawanosh Wetlands Conservation Area. The Suncor Energy Foundation Nature Way includes native trees, wetlands, prairie and a walkway. The Nature Way is linked to the Wawanosh Wetlands Conservation Area by a bridge spanning the Wawanosh Drain. The Authority sat on a steering committee, which coordinated the use of the funds at the Nature Way. A Sunoco employee tree planting day was held. About 60 Sunoco and contract employees, as well as representatives from the City of Sarnia and the Authority, came out and planted 350 large stock trees and shrubs. The Nature Way is a partnership project of the Evergreen Foundation, City of Sarnia, Sunoco, Suncor Energy Foundation and the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority.

The Suncor Energy Foundation Nature Way won two prestigious awards. The employees of Sunoco won the St. Clair River Waterways for Wildlife Project 2002 Corporate Environment Award for their contribution toward naturalizing a storm water management pond in the City of Sarnia. This group also won the Sarnia Lambton Environmental Association’s President’s Award which recognizes environmental excellence in the community.

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The Conservation Authority completed a major bioengineering project for Canadian Waste Management at the Petrolia Landfill Site. This project involved the creation of a stable engineered channel which will take water from a diverted watercourse.

The project involved the collection, construction and installation of 1,200 fascines and 10,000 live stakes. Fascines are made from shrub cuttings (usually dogwood and willow species) which are bundled together and planted in a trench horizontally along the slope. The fascines provide an aggressive growth of new shoots along the cuttings. The live stakes are usually cut from willows and are driven into the soil upright along the slope and are used to help hold the fascines in place. The stakes will take root and grow quickly on moist sites. A large number of trees and shrubs were planted on both sides of this .5 km channel. The side slopes were hydro seeded with native tall grass prairie as part of this project.

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ICI Canada Wetland Creation Project

A wetland was created on lands owned by ICI Canada with support of funds donated by the Ontario Great Lakes Renewal Foundation. The Foundation donated $265,000 to the Conservation Authority as part of a $700,000 wetland creation project on ICI Canada owned lands. ICI undertook the project and provided the remaining $435,000. The project involved enhancing an existing pond by regrading and installing water control structures. A larger number of trees, shrubs, fascines and wetland plants were planted to add habitat diversity. Following completion of this phase, trails will be established and nesting and perching structures installed. The have access to this site of Stanley Line.

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The Conservation Authority is working with Canadian Waste with an experimental leachate treatment system. The initial project involved the planting of 20,000 poplar clone cuttings along the top of the landfill. Following the successful trial, and additional 100,000 clones were planted. Leachate is slowly released on the surface to absorb into the root zones of the poplar cuttings providing moisture for growth and absorption of the leachate into the plant tissue.

The Conservation Authority is working with Canadian Waste to rehabilitate an abandoned landfill. In the first year of the project, 8,500 trees were planted. Additional planting will take place in the fall of 2003 and the spring of 2004.

In cooperation with the Rural Lambton Stewardship Network, Ontario Power Generation and Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the Conservation Authority planted 25,000 shrubs along this provincial highway.

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