Nature in Your Neighbourhood Guide, Videos, Presentations

Bonnechere River Watershed Nature in Your Neighbourhood Guide

The Bonnechere River Watershed Nature in Your Neighbourhood Guide features points of interest in the Bonnechere River Watershed and will assist residents and tourists to enjoy, appreciate, and learn about the Bonnechere River watershed area and its natural highlights. The guide divides the watershed into ten areas. Five of the areas centre on towns that are in or immediately adjacent to the watershed—Renfrew, Douglas, Eganville, Killaloe, and Wilno-Barry’s Bay. The other five areas centre on natural features in the watershed—Lake Clear, Golden Lake, Round Lake, the Little Bonnechere River, and the headwaters in Algonquin Park. For each area, the guide describes a Featured Point of Interest and other Points of Interest, and identifies opportunities for walking, cycling, paddling, exploring, appreciating and sightseeing. Also included are general descriptions of natural highlights such as lakes, forests, ridges and escarpments, wetlands, streams and rivers, including the Bonnechere River itself are provided, as well as species and vegetation types of interest, and references to the watershed’s fascinating geological history.

Two versions of the guide are available here for viewing or downloading; the print version, and an on-line version. The on-line version is an expansion of the print version, and features more photos, reproductions of local artists’ paintings, more web links, links to Nature in Your Neighbourhood video clips, and links to the four segments of the Nature in Your Neighbourhood video series, produced in partnership with TVCogeco.

On-line Version - Bonnechere River Watershed Nature in Your Neighbourhood Guide (revised Oct 2019)

Print Version - Bonnechere River Watershed Nature in Your Neighbourhood (revised July 2019)

The Bonnechere River Watershed Nature in Your Neighbourhood Guide is part of our multi-faceted Ontario Trillium Foundation funded Nature in Your Neighbourhood Project; a collaborative initiative of the Bonnechere River Watershed Project and the Ottawa River Institute .

The Nature in Your Neighbourhood Video Series

The four Nature in Your Neighbourhood video episodes features footage of local landscapes and conversations with residents of the Bonnechere River watershed and the Upper Ottawa Valley. Watch for the Nature in Your Neighbourhood series on TVCogeco, who partnered with us on this series.

Stewarding our Watershed: This episode highlights conversations with environmental stewards of local waterways, farmland, wetlands and forests.

Working Landscapes: This episode highlights conversations with watershed residents about farming, wildlife management, forestry, hydroelectric/solar generation and eco-tourism.

Engaging Youth: This episode highlights outdoor environmental activities with youth living in the watershed.

Measure to Manage: This episode highlights community-based efforts to measure and enhance freshwater quality, stream condition, wildlife populations and wetlands.

The Nature in Your Neighbourhood video series is collaboration of the Bonnechere River Watershed Project, the Ottawa River Institute and TVCogeco as part of a multi-faceted environmental outreach and education initiative funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Video Webisodes

These video webisodes are part of the Nature in Your Neighbourhood (NYN) series and were produced through a collaboration of the Bonnechere River Watershed Project, the Ottawa River Institute and TVCogeco as part of a multi-faceted environmental outreach and education initiative for the Bonnechere River watershed funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

NYN-Friends of the Bonnechere: A conversation with Friends of Bonnechere Parks about environmental education and outreach to address the “nature-deficit disorder” in our communities.

NYN-The Dobson Farm: A conversation with Bob Dobson about his grass-fed beef operation and off-stream, solar-powered cattle watering system.

NYN-Algonquins of Pikwàkangàn: A conversation with Skip Ross, an elder, about Algonquin First Nation history, traditional ways and environmental concerns.

NYN-Forestry in Transition: A conversation with Leo Hall, Opeongo Forestry Service, about impacts of species at risk on forestry and the potential future for sustainable forest products, particularly for energy production.

NYN-Our Changing Climate: A conversation with Jim Coffey, Esprit Rafting Adventures, about climate change, impacts and adaptation in relation to ecotourism.

NYN-Our Watershed Our Future: A conversation with Jerome Coulas, a visual artist, about alternative futures for the Bonnechere River watershed that he was commissioned to paint as a means to engage the public.

Nature in Your Neighbourhood Cablevision Series

The BRWP-ORI Nature in Your Neighbourhood collaborative project filmed many types of nature and environmental related events and activities. In this photo our student videographer, Leo Freemark, interviews Sarah Hall on location at Hoch Farm in Killaloe, where students from the Freshwaters Environment class of the Forestry Technician program from Algonquin College Ottawa Valley Campus identified and recorded numerous flora and fauna species and collected baseline wetlands information.

See the YouTube video clips below for an on-site glimpse of some of the types of events we've filmed for our Nature in Your Neighbourhood series.

Nature in Your Neighbourhood Presentation Series

Over the course of our Nature in Your Neighbourhood initiative, we had the pleasure to feature many local experts in our presentation series, which were offered in collaboration with local libraries. Some examples of our presentations are listed below.

Our 100 Mile Garden– Beyond the Purple Coneflower with Grant Dobson of Connaught Nursery - Thurs. April 19th, 2012, 7pm -Killaloe Lions Hall, in partnership with the Killaloe Public Library—Free Grant Dobson, owner of Connaught Nursery will share his knowledge of gardening with native plants, garden planning and design, plant selection and cultural requirements to ensure a successful native plant garden outcome. This presentation covers the how-to’s of creating a bio-regional garden and will appeal to both naturalist and gardener alike. With over 25 years of horticultural experience, Grant delights in sharing his knowledge so that others will discover the joys and benefits of gardening with native species. To find out more about Grant and his work, visit: www.connaughtnursery.com

Natural History with Mike Runtz, Photographer, Biologist, and Author - Thurs. April 26, 2012, 7 pm- Bonnechere Union Public Library, Eganville– Free. A birdwatcher since the age of five, Michael Runtz has lived and breathed nature all his life. He is well-known for his educational and conservation efforts, for which he has received numerous awards, including an Outstanding Service Award from the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Nowhere else is Michael more in his element than in the natural world itself - howling with the elusive wolf, digging out salamanders from under a rotting log, luring in rutting moose with his skillful calls, or capturing speeding dragonflies with his butterfly net. His intimate familiarity with this world makes Michael the perfect ambassador for nature. Visit: http://http-server.carleton.ca/~mruntz/home.html

Painting Nature, with Joyce Burkholder, Kathy Haycock and Linda Sorensen Artists - Wednesday May 9th, 2012, 7 pm -Renfrew Public Library—Free Award winning artists Joyce Burkholder, Linda Sorensen and Kathy Haycock’s inspired paintings capture nature’s moments with freshness and vitality. Their work reflects a profound love and appreciation of the Ottawa Valley landscape and their unique way of seeing and painting what surrounds them. “There is nothing more enjoyable than sitting within a scene, observing and absorbing intensely and painting. I like to share my delight in being there, in experiencing nature’s gifts of the landscape, the weather, wind, light, even movement and sound”, Kathy Haycock. To find out more about their work, visit: www.hillpottery.com www.lindasorensen.com and www.kmhaycock.com

Also at each presentation, you will learn about the new Renfrew County Biotabase, and the Nature in Your Neighbourhood Community Mapping Tool.

Nature in Your Neighbourhood Project Launched

The Bonnechere River Watershed Project and the Ottawa River Institute, held the launch of their new collaborative project ‘Nature in Your Neighbourhood’ on Friday May 20, 2011 at the Rotary Park in Eganville ON.

Special guests at the launch were John Yakabuski, MPP, Bonnechere Valley Township Mayor Jennifer Murphy, Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township Mayor Janice Visneski, and Guy Jamieson, representative of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The launch also featured brief talks by Shauna Babcock, ED of KidActive, and natural history expert and Chair of the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association, Chris Hinsperger.

Our Ontario Trillium Foundation funded ‘Nature in Your Neighbourhood’ project promotes outdoor recreation and physical activity while encouraging stewardship and conservation of the natural environment on which we all depend.

This eighteen month project identified outdoor sites, particularly those close to communities within the Bonnechere River watershed; Renfrew, Eganville, Golden Lake, Killaloe, and Round Lake among others. The location of the sites and information about them were published in a ‘Nature in Your Neighbourhood’ guide that are available to residents and tourists to the area. Over the duration of the project offered guided field trips to some of the sites, and produced a ‘Nature in Your Neighbourhood’ cablevision series with TVCogeco to complement and promote the use of the sites by youth, adults, families, school and community groups for outdoor learning, physical activity and awareness about nature and ecosystem health.