Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

More Than Just Water, it is Life and Livelihood

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
I want to donate to FMW freshwater research
  • Our Programs
    • ASHMuskoka
    • Environment Care
    • Hauling Ash To Solve Ecological Osteoporosis
  • More Than Just Water
    • Newsletter Archive
  • Fresh Water News
  • Resources
  • Support FMW
  • Events
  • Contact Us
    • Our Board
    • FMW Staff
    • Volunteering

Thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you.

December 3, 2019 by PG

Here was the challenge.

We needed to move approximately 2.5 tonnes of blended, raw wood ash from our storage site at the Rosewarne transfer station in Bracebridge to our three test sites in Muskoka – three volunteer sugar bushes – so that the ash could be spread on the designated test plots. This was equivalent to about 22 garbage cans full of ash for each site, 66 cans in total.

We had to improvise a bit

And there was a catch.

Current Ontario regulations dictate that wood ash – at this time classified as a non-hazardous solid waste – must be transported from the storage site by an approved (read licensed) waste hauler.

Loading up at Rosewarne

Aces Waste Management (Muskoka) Ltd. to the rescue!

Thanks to Nick Andrews, Director of Operations for Aces, for volunteering a roll-off bin truck along with John, a most capable and helpful driver, who were dispatched to move these cans to the 3 sites, all of which required superior driving skill for a truck of that size to access.

Unloading on site.
Dropping off at one of the sites

Success! But we couldn’t have done it without you.

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed is sincerely grateful for the Aces team and its equipment for making these vital deliveries possible.

Filed Under: Environmental Programs, Featured, FMW News

Province funds Hauling Ash project

December 4, 2018 by PG

$733,000 applied research program will use woodstove ash to help heal Muskoka’s damaged forests and waterways

BRACEBRIDGE – The ash from Muskoka’s fireplaces and woodstoves can help the region’s forests and waterways, protect vital aquatic creatures, and even increase the amount of maple syrup we produce.

And thanks to a $733,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a three-year study beginning in January will determine the best ways to get the ash where it can do the most good.

“I encourage residents to take part in this project and I look forward to seeing the results of the study.”

Norman Miller, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka

The Ontario Trillium Foundation has announced a $733,600 grant to the ASHMuskoka project (initially, HATSOFF – Hauling Ash To Save Our Forests’ Future), which is coordinated by the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed (FMW). The project will focus on ways to collect the wood ash, as well as doing field tests to determine exactly how much ash should be spread in different types of forests. “This is a great example of how individual community members can work together to make a real difference for our local ecosystem,” said Norman Miller, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka. “I encourage residents to take part in this project and I look forward to seeing the results of the study.”

ASHMuskoka is a unique collaboration between scientists, municipal officials, and property owners, including the region’s maple sugar producers. “We’ve known for a long time that calcium is a key factor in our forests and waterways,” explained Norman Yan, one of the nation’s leading freshwater biologists and the chair of the FMW. “Decades of acid rain have flushed a lot of that calcium away, with widespread environmental effects. But wood ash is an efficient way to return calcium into the forest and from there into the waterways.”

A smaller study, which FMW completed in 2018, confirmed that the ash is not toxic. It also determined that many people who heat with wood are willing to donate their ash and have it spread in the forest. This next phase of study will begin by recruiting 100 to 200 Muskoka residents who are willing to donate their ash. FMW will be partnering with the District Municipality of Muskoka to set up collection sites at waste transfer stations. “In the meantime,” said Yan, “if you want to contribute your ash to help save our forest, please stockpile it for now. Details on where and how to donate it will be coming early in 2019.”

In the first two years of study, five to ten tonnes of ash will be spread in test plots located in sugar bushes in Muskoka. (Sugar maple trees are particularly prone to calcium loss and tend to respond very quickly when calcium levels are restored). Graduate students and research scientists will monitor the sites, studying the impact of the ash on tree growth, bird populations, water quality, and a wide range of other factors. In the final year of the study, FMW aims to have 1,000 Muskoka residents share up to 100 tonnes of ash (believed to be 1/3 of the annual wood ash production in the District), to allow a watershed-level field test. The ultimate goal is to have a province-wide ash collection system, sufficient to supply hundreds of tonnes of ash every year. “This will take tonnes of material out of the landfills and have an enormous impact on the health of our forests and waterways,” said Yan. Since much of the wood burned in southern Ontario came from central Ontario forests, he added, bringing it back to the region closes a recycling loop.

Calcium depletion backgrounder:

Where did all the calcium go? A century of acid rain and historically poor logging practices have flushed calcium from the soil and from the lakes and rivers. Most of Muskoka’s lakes have lost 25% to 50% of the calcium they need. Even though acid rain has largely stopped, and forestry practices have improved, without intervention it will take centuries for calcium levels to rebound.

Why is this a problem? All life needs calcium. In Muskoka, forests are about 2% calcium by weight, and when calcium isn’t available, the trees and other forest plants can’t grow as quickly or efficiently. Many aquatic creatures – particularly hard-shelled creatures like crayfish, turtles and molluscs – are even more dependent on calcium. Crayfish diversity in many lakes has already declined by 25%. When trees aren’t growing as quickly, they can’t capture carbon as efficiently, impacting their ability to help fight climate change. In lakes, the tiny crustacea and molluscs are often filter-feeders, performing a vital function in cleaning our waterways. Just one group of species filters the entire volume of Lake Muskoka every week in the summer.

Is this a problem everywhere? No. The problem is most severe in areas with thin soils, granite bedrock, and a history of being exposed to acid rain. Muskoka and other parts of central Ontario are uniquely positioned to feel the brunt of this problem.

What will wood ash do? Wood ash is about 1/3 calcium by weight, and also contains many other key nutrients. Much of it is absorbed into the soil and quickly taken up by trees and other plants. What isn’t absorbed by the plants will make its way into the lakes.

How much ash will it take? It will take roughly four tonnes of ash per hectare over many thousands of hectares to restore the calcium balance. That is far more ash than Muskoka residents produce. The lessons learned in this three-year study will be used to help develop a province-wide ash recycling program, to bring wood ash from southern Ontario.

Please visit our ASHMuskoka website to stay up to date with the project.
Visit ASHMuskoka.ca

Filed Under: Environmental Programs, FMW News, Research, Watershed Health

FMW response to the request for input to the Town of Bracebridge’s Community-Based Strategic Plan review

November 12, 2017 by PG

As many of you in Bracebridge may know, the Town has officially launched the review of the Town’s Community-Based Strategic Plan that will guide the community’s future for the next ten years. As part of the planning process, the Town is bringing together the thoughts and feelings of residents, business owners and other stakeholders, and they have invited organizations to submit briefs to assist with this planning process.

Upon review of the materials provided by the Town, Friends of the Muskoka Watershed believes that the four pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental, social and cultural) which form the basis of the plan are fine;
however, we do not believe their fundamental underlying hierarchy has been recognized. The draft planning document identifies the central importance of environmental condition, but this central importance is not reflected in the four pillars as they stand. We believe that the environmental sustainability pillar’s importance was not recognized in past strategic plans, but it could be in the new one. After all, half of the jobs in Muskoka depend on a healthy environment, especially the health of our lakes. We are recommending that the town’s next strategic plan should recognize the irreplaceability of a healthy environment and adopt policies to ensure that we both protect and wisely manage our environment.

Along with our concerns over the need to effectively recognize the crucial importance of the environment in Muskoka, Friends of the Muskoka Watershed was pleased to provide further input and recommendations as requested, and we provide a copy of our letter, in full, for your perusal.

You can read more on the town’s Plan Review on their website at www.bracebridge.ca/Future.

FMW_letter_Bracebridge_Strategic_Plan

Filed Under: Environmental Programs, Featured, FMW News, Watershed Health

MEDIA RELEASE – Receiving A $74,400 OTF Grant to Save Muskoka Lakes from Aquatic Osteoporosis

March 2, 2017 by Paul

MEDIA RELEASE

February 13, 2017

Receiving A $74,400 OTF Grant to Save Muskoka Lakes from Aquatic Osteoporosis

Bracebridge — On Monday, local MPP Norm Miller met with members of the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed to congratulate them on receiving a $74,400 Seed grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). Over the coming year, the group will be using an innovative approach to correct what it terms "aquatic osteoporosis" in Muskoka’s lakes, by developing a wood ash recycling program. Wood ash, which is rich in calcium, may help the lakes that have seen a long-term calcium decline.

"The biodiversity and resilience of Muskoka’s ecosystems are paramount to our collective successes in all arenas. It is with deepest gratitude that I recognize this groundbreaking, community stewardship program today." — Norm Miller, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka

Muskoka’s forests and lakes are suffering from long-term calcium decline, a kind of aquatic osteoporosis, caused mainly by decades of acid rain. Multiple logging cycles can worsen the problem. Friends of the Muskoka Watershed believes residential wood ash can help solve this problem and will be researching what it would take to develop and implement a wood ash recycling program in Muskoka. Bracebridge resident and Chair of the organization, Dr. Norman Yan will be conducting the study over the coming year.

"We need to become gardeners of our forests, supporting them by returning the nutrients that acid rain and logging have removed. Wood ash may well fulfill this need, and healthy forests sustain healthy lakes," said Dr. Norman Yan, Chair of the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed.

The OTF grant will be used to help with some staffing and administrative costs, enable the group to host five information sessions, produce information materials and to help with the ash collection and distribution.

From left to right: Paul Grinnell – Director, FMW; Debbie Vernon – Director, FMW; Dr. Norman Yan – Chair, FMW; Norm Miller – MPP, Parry Sound-Muskoka; Fred Jahn – Commissioner of Engineering & Public Works, DMM; John Klinck – District Chair, DMM

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed is a Muskoka-based not-for-profit Corporation committed to supporting research to improve the quality and resilience of freshwater ecosystems, beginning with Muskoka’s lakes. See friendsofthemuskokawatershed.org for additional details.

An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities. For more information, please visit: www.otf.ca

-30-

For more information, please contact:
Norman Yan, Chair
Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

705 646-0111, email:normandyan@gmail.com
www.friendsofthemuskokawatershed.org

Filed Under: Environmental Programs, FMW News, Research, Watershed Health

Putting Muskoka at the forefront of freshwater research

February 22, 2016 by Paul

Do you or someone you know have a cottage in Muskoka? Perhaps you live here or are fortunate enough to visit. If so, you know what a precious place Muskoka is. Iconic, even. With 1600+ lakes within the watersheds of Muskoka, we have a significant proportion of freshwater resources in Ontario, water that eventually finds its way to the Great Lakes, water that brings joy to 10’s of thousands of people, water that is both life and livelihood.

Yet Muskoka is also a vulnerable place and can be very susceptible to environmental impacts, including those brought about by climate change. One of our goals at Friends of the Muskoka Watershed is to find better, faster, more comprehensive ways to evaluate and track the health of our freshwater lakes and rivers. We believe we have found just such a way, and with your help, we will put Muskoka on the forefront of global freshwater health research, research which will benefit Muskoka, Canada, and beyond.

EnviroCare

Please support Friends of the Muskoka Watershed by becoming a member and a Donor, thereby helping us to achieve our enormously worthwhile goal. Visit our member page at http://friendsofthemuskokawatershed.org/become-a-friend or our Patron page at http://friendsofthemuskokawatershed.org/support-fmw/

More detail on the program we are calling Environment Care may be found at http://friendsofthemuskokawatershed.org/environment-care/

Filed Under: Environmental Programs, Featured, Fundraising, Research, Watershed Health

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

FMW News

Aces Waste Management

Thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you.

December 3, 2019 By PG

Here was the challenge. We needed to move approximately 2.5 tonnes of blended, raw wood ash from our storage site at the Rosewarne transfer station in Bracebridge to our three test sites in Muskoka – three volunteer sugar bushes – so that the ash could be spread on the designated test plots. This was equivalent […]

Recent Posts

  • Thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you. December 3, 2019
  • Have you seen our new building? November 19, 2019
  • Water Canada: Declining Calcium Levels in Freshwater Lakes Have Negative Impacts on Some Species September 6, 2019
  • Welcome to the Board, Neil Hutchinson February 21, 2019
  • Welcome to the Board, Brian McElwain February 19, 2019
Tweets by FriendsMuskokaW

Search our Site

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

Our mailing address is:

PO Box 416
Bracebridge, ON P1L 1T7

Our office is located at:

126 Kimberley Ave., Bracebridge ON


(705) 640-0948

Looking for Muskoka-related water resources and data?

Check out the Muskoka WaterWeb:

MWWlogo

Newsletter

Want to find out what's new and exciting with Friends? Sign up for updates. Please note, we will never share your information with a 3rd party. We value your trust in us.

Copyright © 2019 · Friends of the Muskoka Watershed ·

Copyright © 2019 · Outreach Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in