Wilkesport, ON – Since 2011, the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) has been working with Enbridge to complete a series of stewardship projects on 34 hectares of their land holdings in St. Clair Township. The multiphase Lambton County Naturalization Project has seen the creation of 1 hectare of wetlands adjacent to Bear Creek, the establishment of 2 hectares of tallgrass prairie habitat over underground pipelines, and the reforestation of 31 hectares with the planting of more than 62,000 trees.
There is a need for tree cover in Lambton County as current forest cover is half the recommended level for a healthy environment.
“Not only will these new trees provide much needed forest cover, we designed sections of the tree plantations so we can collect long-term climate change data,” explained Steve Shaw, Manager of Conservation Services at the SCRCA, “We selected a range of Carolinian tree species – including some that are not commonly used in our tree planting program – so we can study their adaptability in a changing climate.”
To celebrate the completion of the 8-year Lambton County Naturalization Project, 17 Enbridge staff joined SCRCA forestry specialists to hand plant 900 tree seedlings on one of the properties in Wilkesport.
Many of the trees planted over the course of the project were grown from local tree seed sourced through the Authority’s tree seed collection program. Trees are genetically adapted to their regional growing zones making the seed collected each year by the Authority important for the future of local tree planting efforts. Enbridge has also provided financial support to assist the Authority with developing a sustainable tree seed collection program in Lambton County.
“The opportunity to work with the SCRCA to develop a seed collection program was something Enbridge was very pleased to support,” said Ken Hall, Senior Strategist Community Engagement. “These types of efforts are critical to sustaining our local environment and the diversity of our local forests and wildlife habitat.”
To mark the completion of the 8-year naturalization project, 17 Enbridge staff joined SCRCA forestry specialists to hand plant 900 tree seedlings on one of the properties near Wilkesport.
About St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority is located in southwestern Ontario and includes the Sydenham River watershed and smaller watersheds draining directly into southern Lake Huron, the St. Clair River and northeastern Lake St. Clair. The Conservation Authority implements programs to reduce the risk to life and property from flooding and erosion; water and land stewardship; forestry; wildlife habitat creation, conservation education, and outdoor recreation. For more information, visit our website at www.scrca.on.ca.
About Enbridge
Enbridge exists to fuel people’s quality of life, and has done so for more than 65 years. A North American leader in delivering energy, Enbridge has been ranked on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations index for the past nine years. Enbridge operates the world’s longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. We’re also a North American leader in the gathering, transportation, processing and storage of natural gas, and we have an increasing involvement in power transmission. Enbridge is Canada’s largest natural gas distribution provider, with about 3.7 million retail customers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Enbridge has interests in nearly 3,000 MW of net renewable generation and power transmission capacity, based on projects in operation or under construction. For more information, visit our website at www.enbridge.com.
