Volunteers from across Rainy River District joined Nature Conservancy of Canada staff at the Oak Grove, near the mouth of the Rainy River, on Sunday to help monitor the provincially-significant oak forest.
The event gave volunteers an opportunity to have fun exploring the oak ecosystem and better understand the threats to the habitat.
While monitoring shrubs, volunteers found there was no oak re-growth because of a dense shrub layer preventing enough sunlight from reaching the forest floor.
The information collected will be very important for the NCC to manage the property for the regeneration of oak trees and the long-term viability of the habitat as an oak savanna.
Oak savannas are an ecosystem that rely on fire to discourage dense shrub growth and enable prairie species to thrive.
The NCC is a non-profit, non-advocacy organization that takes a quiet, business-like approach to land conservation and the preservation of biological diversity.
Sunday’s event was one of the many conservation volunteering opportunities offered this season through the Volunteer for Nature (VfN) program—a partnership between the NCC and Ontario Nature primarily funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Volunteer for Nature provides people opportunities to work together, learn new skills, and participate in hands-on conservation projects throughout Ontario.
The next Volunteer for Nature event, entitled “Stop the Invasion,” will take place Sunday, July 24 at 10 a.m. on Rainy Lake.
For more information, contact Neill Stewart, nature events co-ordinator at the NCC , at 274-6414 or AlistairNeill.Stewart@natureconservancy.ca
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
