Friday, October 3 · 8:30am – 6pm EDT

Muskoka Lumber Community Centre

56 Salmon Avenue Bracebridge, ON P1L 1C3

TICKETS

The post Living Smarter: Muskoka Summit On The Environment 2025 appeared first on Muskoka411.

What does a smarter, more sustainable future look like for Muskoka? This October, the Muskoka Summit on the Environment returns with a bold challenge: to rethink how we live, build, and thrive in a rapidly changing world. While rooted in Muskoka, the conversations and solutions emerging from this Summit will resonate far beyond. The challenges we face are shared, and so are the opportunities to act.

Hosted by the Muskoka Watershed Council, the 2025 Summit will take place on Friday, October 3, at the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre in Bracebridge, Ontario. Join leaders, experts, and engaged citizens at Muskoka’s premier environmental conference—tickets are available now at www.muskokasummit.org.

With this year’s theme, “Living Smarter,” the event will bring together international leaders in climate resilience, sustainable development, and green innovation to explore solutions that are both environmentally responsible and economically viable.

Grounded in the realities of climate adaptation, the 2025 Summit will address urgent concerns such as our need to adapt to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events like wildfires and floods, and our need to mitigate climate change by changing how we build, live and play here. Rather than viewing sustainability and prosperity as competing priorities, the Summit will explore how the two can work hand-in-hand.

This year’s speakers include:

· Dr. Anabela Bonada, Managing Director, Climate Science, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo

· Chris Magwood, Manager of Carbon-Free Buildings at RMI; Cofounder, Builders for Climate Action

· Jeff Lehman, Municipal Leader with experience in Barrie and Muskoka

· Angela Nagy, CEO, GreenStep Solutions, headquartered in Kelowna, BC

· Anita Krajnc, Global Campaigner, Plant-Based Treaty

The Summit is open to full-time and seasonal residents, policymakers, students, business owners, and anyone passionate about building a more sustainable future for their business, community, or home. It’s a unique opportunity to connect, learn, and engage in a solutions-focused dialogue.

This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of SLR Consulting, Lakeland Generation, Greenland Consulting Engineers, and the Town of Bracebridge. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. Organizations interested in supporting this landmark event are encouraged to reach out.

The post This October, Muskoka Gets Real About Climate. Are You In? appeared first on Muskoka411.

Muskoka Watershed Council reintroduces the biennial Muskoka Summit on the Environment with a fresh look and feel. The goal is to address the diverse, dynamic, and complex system we call a watershed and the role people play in its future.

This year’s Summit has been aptly themed Resilience. In the context of the Summit, “resilience” is the ability of this socio-ecological system (our watershed) to retain its character, dynamics and internal processes despite the various forces acting to disrupt it. With increasing development, ever more severe weather events, contaminants, invasive species, loss of native species and shoreline erosion those forces grow stronger. Changes to the natural environment many of us treasure will affect our regional economy and valued lifestyle. Recognizing that the watershed is a living, breathing entity that includes us and our economy, it is critical to rethink our relationship with the natural world. Sustaining the watershed into the future requires a collaborative, multi-layered and multi-disciplinary approach to management.

The Muskoka Summit on the Environment will feature a full day of programming, including presentations from leading scientists and environmental specialists from across Canada. Additionally, Muskoka’s own youth environmental advocates will present their unique perspectives on the watershed. Through this conference, Muskoka Watershed Council aims to raise awareness, promote dialogue, and encourage collaborative action among the community, encompassing full-time and seasonal residents of the Muskoka region, business owners, policymakers and the next generation of environmental advocates.

The Summit will be held on Friday, October 4th, in the brand-new Muskoka Lumber Community Centre in Bracebridge. Attendees can look forward to stimulating talks, networking breaks, lunch and dinner, all included in the $149 Summit Pass.

Help Muskoka Watershed Council define Muskoka’s tomorrow by reserving your spot at the Muskoka Summit on the Environment 2024!

Align yourself and your company name with this progressive event by becoming a Summit Sponsor.  For more information about how to become a Summit Sponsor, contact the Summit Sponsorship Coordinator, Andrew Fyfe, at sponsorship@muskokawatershed.org.

The post It’s Back, Better Than Ever: Muskoka Summit On The Environment 2024 appeared first on Muskoka411.

The Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program was created by MWC in 2022 to help local non-profit organizations celebrate those members that go above and beyond to help protect our watersheds. In the two years since the program’s launch, twenty watershed stewards have been recognized by their respective organizations for their efforts!

The program is named after a former MWC member, Doug Cross, who used his extensive background and expertise in media communications to help get MWC’s messages out to the community. MWC received a generous donation in 2020 upon his passing, and MWC is using these funds to raise awareness about good watershed stewardship practices.

Eligible organizations can register during the month of January to receive a free Recognition Package for them to award to a member that they’ve identified as being a good watershed steward. Each Recognition Package includes a certificate of recognition and a gift card to Hidden Habitat native plant nursery!

What’s a good watershed steward? We’ve outlined some criteria to help organizations select worthy recipients on our website, and we’ve also provided some ideas on how to select a recipient, but it’s up to each organization to decide what works best for them.

Learn more about the Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program and register your organization to receive a free Recognition Package at www.muskokawatershed.org/programs/stewardship-recognition-program.

The post Register Now For The Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program To Recognize Good Watershed Stewards appeared first on Muskoka411.

The health of the watershed, or its ecological integrity, is a measure of its ability to maintain its structure and functions under varying stresses. Just as medical experts assess human health using a range of diagnostic tools, we gauge watershed health through diverse indicators.

So, just how healthy is the Muskoka watershed? “Muskoka’s watersheds stand at a crucial turning point,” warns Peter Sale, Chair of MWC. “While currently healthy, they are gradually degrading in several ways, and our existing management systems seem incapable of halting or reversing this negative trend. We need an integrated, watershed-scale management system capable of dealing with the multiple stresses our iconic environment now faces.”

The background report offers insights into 14 key indicators and highlights various concerning trends affecting the watershed’s health. These include:

1. Climate Impacts: We can observe evidence of local climate change in our local weather records. This shifting climate is causing various effects on our watershed ecosystem, and it is paving the way for ongoing changes in the years to come. These changes are influencing biodiversity, our economy, and our daily lives.
2. Ice Dynamics: Over the past two decades, the duration of winter ice coverage has fallen by 20 days, impacting winter recreation, tourism, the construction industry, and lake dynamics – the way in which our lakes function ecologically.
3. Severe Storms: Since 2000, the watershed has seen twice as many severe storms compared to the 30 years before that time. Spring flooding is caused by a combination of high snowpack, rapid snowmelt, and heavy rain during the thaw.
4. Chloride Increase: Lakes are becoming saltier, with 70% now exceeding their natural salt levels, and 24% have chloride levels that threaten aquatic life.

5. Calcium Decline: Soil and lake calcium levels have been declining due to acid rain, changing land use, and climate change. This decline affects critically important aquatic organisms like Daphnia and other zooplankton, which rely on calcium for skeleton formation.
6. Algal Bloom Increase: Harmful algae blooms, including toxic blue-green varieties, are becoming more common, impacting the beauty and economy of the region while raising health risks.

These trends can’t be addressed independently of each other, nor with local actions alone. MWC highlights the importance of adopting comprehensive solutions across the entire watershed. An Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) approach allows consideration of multi-disciplinary solutions, coordinated across municipalities. This approach will benefit communities and the economy; and it can be incorporated into land use policy, climate action, infrastructure planning and environmental initiatives.

“This approach is crucial to enhancing watershed health, promoting sustainable economies, fortifying community well-being, and building resilience against climate change and other stressors,” highlights Kevin Trimble, a Director with the Muskoka Watershed Council. “Collaborative efforts among individuals, businesses, and governments are essential to effectively address the intricate challenges impacting the watershed and strive for a sustainable future. The time is now for everyone to stand up and take action to safeguard the health of the Muskoka watershed,” Kevin emphasizes.

The Muskoka Watershed Council urges active engagement within the community: Encouraging leaders to make bold choices for a healthier environment, advocating for Integrated Watershed Management, and supporting local environmental groups’ diligent efforts. Every small action contributes to our collective endeavor to enhance resilience, preserve the ecological integrity of Muskoka’s iconic environment, economy, and way of life. Together, we can create change and work towards a sustainable future for Muskoka.

Muskoka Watershed Council – To Empower the Community to Protect and Enhance Watershed Health.

www.muskokawatershed.org

The post Muskoka Watershed Council Releases The Muskoka Watershed Health Report Card appeared first on Muskoka411.

The Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program was established in 2022 to help local community and lake organizations across Muskoka’s watersheds recognize the dedication, effort, and good stewardship activities of their members. Organizations register in January to receive a Recognition Package to award to a deserving member of their organization. Each Recognition Package contains a Certificate of Recognition and a $50 gift card to Hidden Habitat native plant nursery in Kilworthy!

A list of organizations that participated in 2022 along with the names of recipients and their efforts to protect our watersheds is now available on the MWC website at www.muskokawatershed.org/blog/2022-dcsrp-recipients.

MWC would like to thank all organizations for their participation in the inaugural year and making the program a success. More importantly, MWC would like to thank all of the recipients for their outstanding efforts to protect our watersheds and leading by example.

The Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program is named after Doug Cross, a former MWC member that spearheaded a number of communications initiatives for MWC. Mr. Cross passed away in 2020, leaving behind a legacy of volunteerism for various community and environmental initiatives.

The Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program will return for 2023 with registration opening January 1^st. Learn more about the program and register your organization (in January 2023) at www.muskokawatershed.org/programs/stewardship-recognition-program.

The post Watershed Stewards Honoured in 2022 Through Recognition Program appeared first on Muskoka411.

On the beach, on the roads, or on a log, cottagers and locals alike are thrilled yearly by the sightings of one of our few native reptiles – the turtle. Often we don’t give our shelled friends much thought, but this year Muskoka Watershed Council is encouraging residents of the region to “Shellebrate” these important and fascinating fellow lake-lovers on World Turtle Day, May 23.

Turtles, a Keystone Species

Turtles are essential to the health of Muskoka’s ecosystems, and all eight endemic varieties are recognized as “keystone species”. A keystone species is an animal whose role in the food-web is essential to an entire chain of linked species, habitats, and ecosystem services. Without them, and the specific role they play, other species populations and ecosystem functions can be compromised – the ecosystem can collapse.

Turtles are water quality specialists, removing sources of harmful bacteria from our waterways and maintaining fish populations. Along with invertebrates like worms and crayfish, turtles eat carcasses of fish and animals that die in lakes and wetlands. They also eat many aquatic plants, spreading their seeds as they travel wetlands and lake shores.

According to Turtle Guardians, over 70% of Ontario’s wildlife depends on wetlands and shore lands, therefore by protecting turtles we inevitably also help the majority of our native wildlife…which along with good water quality, supports our wellbeing too!

Population Critically in Decline

Despite being long-lived, the success rate for a turtle to hatch and reach maturity is just 0.06%, underscoring the importance of every single turtle to the survival of the entire population.

However, turtles of all ages are increasingly killed on roads, removed from nature for pets, poached, or deliberately killed. It is estimated that less than 50% of the turtle population in Ontario remains, and the loss of just 20% more of our Snapping turtle populations could result in their extinction in 20 years. Snapping turtles may be the best cleaning crews and biodiversity agents we have, and our lakes will suffer greatly without them.

The American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a nonprofit organization established in 1990 to fight for the protection of all species of turtles and tortoises, is organizing the 22^nd World Turtle Day and this year the theme, “Shellebrate!”, asks us all to reconsider our relationship with these special natural residents.

How Can You “Shellebrate”?

Muskoka’s turtles need your help!

1. Be vigilant when driving to avoid hitting turtles crossing the road. If it is safe to do so, stop and help the turtle cross the road in the direction it was heading. If you take it back from where it came, it will turn and cross again.
2. Support local government officials that are helping to stop the filling of wetlands and development that causes habitat fragmentation.
3. Report poaching of turtles for food or for the black-market pet trade. It is illegal in Canada.
4. Support climate change initiatives, personally and politically. Turtles are very sensitive to temperature changes and habitat loss.
5. Help stop pollution, especially where turtles are found.
6. Help stop the spread of invasive species. New invasive species can invade a turtle’s habitat and push out the plants and animals that are part of a turtle’s ecosystem.
7. Report turtle sightings to help conservation efforts. They can be reported to the Ontario Turtle Tally athttps://report.adoptapond.ca/, the Turtle Guardians at https://ontarioturtle.ca/ourmission/drop-off, and the Herps of Ontario project on iNaturalist at www.inaturalist.org/projects/herps.
8. Support the various agencies dedicated to conserving, protecting and rehabilitating turtles. A few that operate in the Muskoka area are:

• Scales Nature Park (“Saving Turtles at Risk Today” (START)) – www.scalesnaturepark.ca
• Georgian Bay Turtle Hospital – https://gbth.ca
• Turtle Guardians – https://www.turtleguardians.com/
• Ontario Turtle Conservation – https://ontarioturtle.ca/

The post Muskoka Watershed Council “Shellebrates” World Turtle Day appeared first on Muskoka411.

Almost all of the liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater, supporting drinking water supplies, sanitation systems, farming, industry, and ecosystems. In Muskoka, with our abundance of surface water, most municipalities get their water from various lakes. One exception is Port Sydney, where water is drawn from a well. Many Muskoka residents, living outside of our larger communities, are also dependent on deep groundwater wells for their water.

Groundwater is water found underground in aquifers, which for most of Muskoka, are located below bedrock. Groundwater is slowly recharged mainly from rain and snowfall infiltrating the ground. But while it may be deep underground, seemingly separate from surface waters, groundwater is not a never-ending source of water for us to draw from. If we exhaust a groundwater source, it does not usually replenish over weeks or months but over decades or longer. Groundwaters are susceptible to human activity and pollution: toxic materials can leach into an aquifer and contaminate its groundwater.

Exploring, protecting, and sustainably using groundwater will be central to surviving and adapting to climate change and meeting the needs of a growing population. Take time on World Water Day to reflect: While groundwater is invisible, its impact is visible everywhere. What we do on the surface matters underground.

Learn about actions you can take to protect Muskoka’s water on the Muskoka Watershed Council’s website at muskokawatershed.org.

The post Groundwater Chosen As Focus For World Water Day 2022 appeared first on Muskoka411.

Muskoka Watershed Council has a lot to celebrate.   What started as an ambitious idea to create a community-based watershed council in 2001 has blossomed into a robust organization that blends municipal support and resources with volunteer expertise to champion watershed health across Muskoka and beyond.

Building Capacity To Protect Muskoka’s Watershed

Since its inaugural meeting in October 2001, Muskoka Watershed Council (MWC) has brought together local governments, lake and ratepayer associations, scientists, provincial experts, local businesses, and the general public to work cooperatively on watershed-wide environmental issues.

MWC has been busy engaging the community in stewardship, providing science-based resource material, and reporting on the health of the watersheds.

“Throughout the last 20 years, MWC has built a legacy of environmental stewardship, awareness, and support to the community,” MWC Chair Geoff Ross notes. “It is my pleasure to be MWC Chair during this celebratory time, and I, and all MWC members, are looking forward to the future of MWC.”

Community Coming Together

Over the past 20 years, much has been accomplished by a phenomenal team of members, volunteers and staff. Almost 150 people have served as members of MWC, and many more have volunteered their time and expertise on various MWC initiatives. Check out the infographic included on MWC’s accomplishments over the years, as well as MWCs anniversary video: https://youtu.be/rRkLRsZIE1g.

“As we reflect on the past 20 years, there is much for MWC to be proud of, and none of it would be possible without volunteers from across the watershed,”  adds Ross. “Looking forward, we are excited to play a part in raising awareness and advancing actions about important watershed health issues, like climate change, invasive species, and integrated watershed management.”

If you’re interested in learning more about MWC, please contact info@muskokawatershed.org, or visit www.muskokawatershed.org.

The post Muskoka Watershed Council Celebrates 20 Years Of Championing Watershed Health appeared first on Muskoka411.

MWC is excited to announce the launch of the Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program to help local non-profit organizations celebrate those members that go above and beyond to help protect our watersheds.

The program is named after a former MWC member, Doug Cross, who used his extensive background and expertise in media communications to help get MWC’s messages out to the community. MWC received a generous donation in 2020 upon his passing, and MWC is using these funds to raise awareness about good watershed stewardship practices.

Eligible organizations can register during the month of January to receive a free Recognition Package for them to award to a member that they’ve identified as being a good watershed steward. Each Recognition Package includes a certificate of recognition and a gift card to Hidden Habitat native plant nursery!

What’s a good watershed steward? MWC has outlined some criteria to help organizations select worthy recipients on our website, and have also provided some ideas on how to select a recipient, but it’s up to each organization to decide what works best for them.

Learn more about the Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program and register your organization to receive a free Recognition Package at www.muskokawatershed.org/programs/stewardship-recognition-program.

The post MWC Launches The Doug Cross Stewardship Recognition Program To Recognize Watershed Stewards appeared first on Muskoka411.