Greening of the Bonnechere River Watershed
The BRWP’s tree planting program is a 50/50 cost-sharing agreement with private landowners to plant native trees and shrubs on private land within the watershed. The goals of this program are to enhance wildlife habitat by expanding corridors and to enhance water quality by expanding or creating buffer zones along water courses. Corridors attach forest patches and enhance connectivity which allows wildlife to travel safely between patches to obtain food and shelter, find mates and maintain genetic biodiversity. Riparian vegetation is that which grows along the banks of water courses and makes up the buffer zone which protects the waterway from bank erosion, nutrient loading and sedimentation. It also provides vital habitat for wildlife that use the waterways.
This program began in 2002 with the planting of 12,000 native trees and shrubs on private land within the Bonnechere River watershed. Since then, the program has expanded to include the planting of almost 26,000 seedlings in 2007 with 14 private landowners. Also in 2007 the Bonnechere River Riparian Tree Planting Program Landowner Information Folder was developed, a document designed to assist landowners in planning, planting and caring for their seedlings.
There is also an educational component to the program which provides grade 7/8 students the opportunity to learn first hand the importance of environmental projects such as tree planting. In 2007 St. Mary’s Catholic School in Wilno planted 1500 trees for a landowner requiring assistance planting.
Regeneration surveys were done this year on some projects that took place in previous years and further work on this will be a priority for 2008 to ensure that our efforts have been successful and help determine where planting should be focused in years to come.
If you are interested in receiving a Landowner Information Folder which includes an application for trees and letter explaining the program, or would like to volunteer to help plant trees in the spring, please contact our Project Coordinator.
Assistance for this program in 2007 was provided by the Community Fish and Wildlife Involvement Program, a program of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Renfrew County Stewardship Council.
