This is to inform you that the public comment period for the Canada-Ontario Draft Action Plan for Lake Erie has been extended by an additional 15 days. The new deadline to submit comments is Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

Please submit your comments through Canada’s engagement platform www.letstalklakeerie.ca or Ontario’s Environmental Registry www.ontario.ca/EBR.

We look forward to your comments and working with you to develop the Action Plan for Lake Erie.

Stay Informed!

We appreciate and value your interest in the progress of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Great Lakes programs. If you wish to update any of your contact information, or to be added or removed from this distribution list, please send an email to ec.grandslacs-greatlakes.ec@canada.ca with the following:

•       Your name, company or organization and mailing address

•       Your preference to receive documents in electronic or print format

•       Your email address

•       Anything else you would like to tell us, or ask about the Great Lakes!

As always, your details will be treated as privileged information and will only be used to distribute our Great Lakes information to you – our stakeholders. These distribution lists are never shared outside of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Le Canada et l’Ontario prolongent les consultations publiques sur le plan d’action provisoire pour réduire la prolifération d’algues nuisibles dans le lac Érié

La présente vise à vous informer que la période de commentaires du public pour l’ébauche du Plan d’action Canada-Ontario pour le lac Érié a été prolongée de 15 jours. La nouvelle date limite pour soumettre des commentaires est le mercredi 24 mai 2017.

Veuillez nous faire part de vos commentaires par l’entremise de la plateforme de participation du Canada au www.parlonslacerie.ca ou du Registre environnemental de l’Ontario au www.ontario.ca/EBR.

Nous avons hâte de lire vos commentaires et d’élaborer le Plan d’action pour le lac Érié avec votre aide.

 Tenez-vous au courant!

Nous apprécions et estimons votre intérêt dans les progrès des programmes des Grands Lacs d’Environnement et Changement climatique Canada. Si vous souhaitez mettre à jour certaines de vos coordonnées ou que nous vous ajoutions ou retirions de cette liste de distribution, veuillez envoyer un courriel à ec.grandslacs-greatlakes.ec@canada.ca avec les renseignements suivants :

•       votre nom, le nom de votre entreprise ou de votre organisme et l’adresse postale;

•       votre préférence quant à la réception de document en version électronique ou en format papier;

•       votre adresse électronique;

•       tout autre renseignement que vous aimeriez nous indiquer ou toute question que vous aimeriez nous poser au sujet des Grands Lacs!

Comme toujours, vos détails seront traités en tant que renseignements privilégiés et ne seront utilisés que pour vous diffuser – nos intervenants – des renseignements sur les Grands Lacs. Ces listes de distribution ne sont jamais transmises à l’extérieur d’Environnement et Changement climatique Canada.

Environment and Climate Change Canada / Government of Canada

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the next best time is today.”

~Chinese Proverb~

On Sunday, 23 April, the Windsor-Essex community celebrated Earth Day 2017 by planting 2205 trees and shrubs. We moved to a new location this year in the Little River Corridor Park. Planting took place on both sides of the Ganatchio Trail south of Wyandotte Street East.

Over 1,000 accurate community volunteers participated in this event! Volunteers worked from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Mother Nature provided an outstanding day for planting trees: sunny with a clear, blue sky and mild temperatures over the morning. In other words, it was a wonderful Spring day to plant trees and shrubs!

The species of trees we planted included: White Oak, Pin Oak, Hackberry, Red Oak, American Elm, Burr Oak, Sycamore, Swamp White Oak, Silver Maple, Shumard Oak, Tulip Tree and Eastern Cottonwood.

Little River Corridor Park, between Riverside Drive and McHugh Street, has now benefitted from the planting of 15709 trees and shrubs since May 1990. The recreation trails throughout the area will permit people to make the much needed connection with nature; they may even be lucky enough to experience the different species of wildlife that call this area home.

Wildlife observed in the area included: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Cottontail and Mallard Duck. In the stormwater retention pond, the Mute Swan displayed aggressive behaviour toward the Canada Goose; the swan’s wings were uplifted and curved as it swam toward the goose, the goose’s head was lowered as it swam away from the swan. Eventually, the goose flew away and the swan owned the pond. A wildlife highlight for the day for Ian was seeing the Bald Eagles that were nesting nearby. One was in the nest and the other was flying in a big circle around the nest. We see this as nature sending the tree planters a message of approval: “When a pair of Bald Eagles decided to build their nest in the Little River Watershed, we took that as a validation that all of our efforts have been worthwhile.”

Planning for the event was done by the Essex Region Conservation Authority, Detroit River Canadian Cleanup Committee and the City of Windsor. DRCC funded the trees via the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Event organizers appreciated the efforts from the 15 How To Crew volunteers who were an incredible force for planting trees.

Whenever people do something good to make the Earth a better place to live, they can go home satisfied that they have made a difference.

Event report written by Ian Naisbitt, the Chair of Little River Enhancement Group and the Education and Public Involvement Group with the DRCC.

Earth Day Gallery

•  Volunteers pick up trash at Little River watershed (April 2017)
•  Volunteers tackle Little River litter, find evidence of illegal dumping (April 2017)
•  Local groups and volunteers working to cleanup Little River (April 2017)

Litter Cleanup Gallery