TD Trees Day Along Little River
Gina Pannunzio, Kelly Laforest and Ian Naisbitt (Author)
On Sunday, 22 October, TD Bank sponsored their TD Trees Day program by inviting our Windsor-Essex community to help TD employees plant trees. Groups that participated included: Essex County Nature, Code Green – Caesars Windsor, Rotary Club of LaSalle Centennial, Essex County Geocachers, University of Windsor Students, the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, Unifor Local 200 Retirees and the Little River Enhancement Group.
The planting site is located in the Detroit River Watershed in East Windsor’s Little River Corridor Park. This is the same site that our community planted to celebrate Earth Day 2017.
We enjoyed a typical Autumn day: a mostly sunny sky with occasional Cirrus clouds, temperatures in the morning of 12 Celsius increasing to 21 C by noon. There was a slight breeze (23 km/ h), which made the planting pleasurable.
Over 60 eager volunteers participated by digging holes; planting and mulching 300 trees! Volunteers started planting at 9:30 a.m. and the job was completed at 11:15 a.m., before the scheduled end time, Well Done! The species of trees that we planted included Burr Oak, Swamp White Oak, Red Oak, Cottonwood, American Elm, Basswood, Pin Oak, Hackberry, and American Sycamore.
The Little River Enhancement Group would like to thank TD Bank and the Essex Region Conservation Authority/ Detroit River Canadian Cleanup for planning this community event. Our goal to improve the ecosystem health of the Detroit River Watershed has benefited from the TD Tree Day volunteer efforts.
Happy 150th Birthday Canada
Happy 125th Birthday City of Windsor
Gina Pannunzio, Paul Giroux and Ian Naisbitt (Author)
On Saturday, 14 October, the Windsor-Essex community celebrated the birthdays of Canada and Windsor by planting 150 trees. Essex County Nature was invited to participate by Paul Giroux, City of Windsor Forester and Gina Pannunzio, Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA)/ Detroit River Canadian Cleanup (DRCC). Our community partnership also included volunteers from the Little River Enhancement Group (Lil’ Reg) and the Windsor Chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (AMJ Windsor). This project was funded by the AMJ Windsor, the City of Windsor and the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup.
The planting site is located in the Little River Watershed in East Windsor at Bush Park. There is an existing woodland that is well established in the south end of the park; fortunately, the Ganatchio Trail already runs through it and is enjoyed by local citizens. This tree planting event extended the woodland habitat north to Forest Glade Drive and will provide shade for trail users in the future. As well, planted trees along the Ganatchio Trail will connect the park to the riparian habitat of the Little River valley.
Environment Canada called for a cloudy day with 60 percent chance of showers. High 21. Humidex 25. UV index 3 or moderate. The group appreciated the weather conditions: overcast, with mild Autumn temperatures (15 to 17 degrees Celsius). The volunteers were not phased by the precipitation at the beginning of the event, which did not last. About 50 hardy community volunteers (children, parents and grandparents) participated by digging holes; planting and mulching the trees! Volunteers worked from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The species of trees that we planted included: (Burr Oak, American Elm, Swamp White Oak, Basswood, Pin Oak, Freeman’s Maple and American Sycamore.)
The planting event was followed by a barbeque sponsored by the AMJ Windsor group, which was greatly appreciated by the volunteers.
Today’s contribution brings the total number of trees planted in the Little River Watershed to 39235!
Volunteers Celebrating Canada’s 150th and Windsor’s 125th Birthdays
On Sunday, October 1st, FCA Canada’s Joint Workplace Environment Committee (JWEC) partnered with the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) and the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup (DRCC) to create more meadow habitat in Windsor. Over 100 volunteers attended this event to plant native grasses and wildflowers and their seeds along a new section at the Grand Marais restoration site.
Over the past 10 years, Unifor Local 444 and FCA Canada management staff from the Windsor Assembly Plant have planted over 1000 native trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers at various sites around the facility for butterflies and other wildlife. With funding support of over $60,000 from the DRCC, planting expertise provided by ERCA, and the muscle of the Windsor Assembly employees, this decade long partnership has contributed significantly to restoration efforts within the Detroit River watershed.
Planting Event Gallery
