Our planet’s natural environment is under unprecedented stress. We need systemic change to address the most pressing environmental issues we face today, but there are still many ways that we, as individuals can contribute to restoring a healthy planet by reducing our environmental footprint. Ontario Nature provides some tips.

There are now two ways to see Upper Thames River Conservation Authority’s report cards on the environmental conditions in each of the 28 watersheds in the Upper Thames River watershed with a focus on surface water quality and forest conditions.

What is a wetland? What are the different types of wetlands? Find out the answers to this and other questions in a fascinating article from Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

From Ontario Nature:

Under the guise of improving efficiency and reducing administrative burden, the Government of Ontario is proposing alarming amendments to the Mining Act that would significantly weaken existing environmental protection and rehabilitation requirements (ERO# 019-6715).

Please join Ontario Nature in opposing the proposed amendments to the Mining Act and ask that they be withdrawn.

Visit the Ontario Nature for more information and to sign the Action Alert.

From Nature Canada

Meet Anna’s Hummingbird, a Cold-Dwelling, Not-So-Fair-Weather Feathered Friend

What’s smaller than a ping pong ball, lighter than a nickel, and emerald-pink-shimmery all over? Anna’s Hummingbird! This bird was named after the 19th-century Italian duchess Anna Massena.

Read more at https://naturecanada.ca/news/blog/meet-annas-hummingbird/

The Cornell Lab of Orinthology has released the numbers from the 2023 Great Backyard Bird Count. Half a million bird enthusiasts shared sightings from almost every corner of the world.

The Great Backyard Bird Count in a Snapshot

• 7,538 species of birds identified
• 202 participating countries
• 390,652 eBird checklists
• 372,905 Merlin Bird IDs
• 151,479 photos added to Macaulay Library
• 555,291 estimated global participants

The full report can be found here.

Next year’s Great Backyard Bird Count is scheduled for February 16-19, 2024.

Club members and friends walked the Oxford Thames River Trail at Beachville on January 23, enjoying the views amidst light snowfalll. Not many birds to see, but the company was excellent. Of interest, an empty turtle shell! Next hike is scheduled for Feb 18 at Vansittart Woods. All welcome!

On January 18, IDNC hosted Jim Rule, local naturalist, at the Ingersoll Public Library for our first of four Nature Notes presentations in our 2023 lecture series. An appreciative full house is learning how he and his wife Margaret turned their 10-acre property into a prospering Carolinian Zone arboretum.

From Carolinian Canada Coalition:

The Southern Ontario Seed Strategy (SOSS) is full steam ahead! The SOSS collective is actively strategizing ways that we can help preserve native plants and seeds and establish a native seed supply to support restoration and retail markets in southern Ontario. Through knowledge sharing, discussion, and working groups, a draft strategy will be formed.

Read more at https://caroliniancanada.ca/seed

The Oxford County Trails Council has published the Winter 2023 issue of The Trail Times. Learn about the upcoming Winter Walk for Warmth, how our natural space is under threat, major improvements to the culvert entrance and more. Read all about it at http://www.oxfordcountytrailscouncil.ca/trailsnewsletterswinter2023.pdf.