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The DRCC Newsletter
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April 16, 2010

Spring cleaning has begun; inside and outside. Are you looking for something to do during Earth month? Consider organizing a cleanup in your neighbourhood. This kind act will not only prevent garbage from contaminating our soil and water but it might also encourage others around you to help out and do the same! It's important to act and spread the message about protecting our environment.  

Remember, we love to hear from you! Please email your environmental events/news or newsletter suggestions. Depending on timing, we can include your event in our newsletter or on our events calendar.

Natalie Green, RAP Coordinator
postmaster@detroitriver.ca

The DRCC is a community-based partnership between government, industry, academics, as well as environmental and community organizations that work collectively in helping to improve the health of the Detroit River. Our key goal is to implement the Canadian Remedial Action Plan (RAP) in order to restore the beneficial uses and remove the River from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

Did you know??

...that you can dispose of your used, scrap car tires FREE OF CHARGE (for Essex County and Windsor residents) at the Public Drop-Off locations in Windsor and Kingsville? There is a maximum limit of 8 tires. Bicycle and airplane tires are not accepted.

Share this information with your neighbour and help prevent the unnecessary dumping of tires and other garbage in our woodlots, ditches and waters.

Please contact the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority for more information.

Click here for more information about tire recycling
Click here for hours of operation and locations
Don't dump used tires in our waters or woodlots.
Tires in the river
9th Annual Smogfest Art Exhibition: Call for submissions

 
The Citizens Environment Alliance (CEA) invites Windsor - Essex County - Detroit and area artists of all media to create art work that reflects our dismal air quality or other environmental issues.

Work will not be accepted after April 27. If special arrangements need to be made for the delivery of artwork please contact the CEA office in advance. All work must be ready to hang. For artists creating artwork that requires special presentation, you must include hardware/shelves/pedestals with your work.

Please forward a short statement about your proposed work(s) and approximate dimensions by email, fax or mail by Friday, April 17. All artwork must be dropped off at the CEA office, located at 1950 Ottawa St., by Tuesay, April 27. Please include your name, phone/email, title of piece(s), media and starting bid.

Artists may submit up to four artworks in the upcoming SMOGFEST Art Exhibition, to be held May 1-30th, 2010 at Milk Coffee Bar, 68 University Ave. W., Windsor. Silent auction bidding will run the length of the exhibition. The Art Exhibition's closing reception, The Last Gasp, will take place at Milk Coffee Bar on May 29.

The artist will receive 70% of selling price; the CEA will receive 30%.

For more information, please contact the CEA:
1950 Ottawa Street, Windsor, ON, N8Y 1R7
phone: (519) 973-1116
fax:(519) 973-8360
email:ceaadmin@cogeco.net

Download the poster

Now available: DRCC Annual Review 2009-2010

All volunteers

Are you interested in the Detroit River? Would you like to know what the DRCC member organizations and citizen volunteers have accomplished over the last year? If so, then I am happy to inform you that the DRCC's 2009-2010 Annual Review will soon be available on our website!

The document provides a summary and overview of the projects that have been completed between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

It is best printed on 8.5" x 14" paper, double-sided, landscape orientation.

Cover photo by Glen Garant, a participant in last year's Peche Island Day.

If you prefer, you may request a hard copy by emailing postmaster@detroitriver.ca.

 

Vermicomposting: it's worm-tastic!

 

Have you ever wanted to try vermicomposting (composting with worms)?  Here is your chance! The Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA) will be giving away free worms and hosting a vermicomposting workshop on April 25th at the Windsor-Essex Earth Day Festival on April 25th. You must register in advance. See below for more details.
 
Why Everyone Should Vermicompost?
If you Vermicompost you will reduce the amount of garbage being transported to local landfill - The average Canadian produces a tonne of waste each year. An estimated 1/2 to 1/3 of household waste is organic matter. Composting is easy and convenient. You can even keep the composter inside and don't need to go out in the cold to compost.
 
How do I get the worms?
Call the EWSWA 519-776-6441 ext. 229 to register. The first 100 people to register will be eligible to receive 1/2 lb of red wiggler worm. This is a $33 value. A donation of $5 would be greatly appreciated and the money would be donated to the Windsor-Essex County Earth Day Festival Committee which is a non-profit organization.
 
What happens after I register?
To receive the worms you need to attend the Windsor-Essex County Earth Day Festival on April 25th, 2010 at Mic Mac Park. When you register you will be given a time to attend a vermicomposting workshop on how to vermicompost. You will also be required to bring with you the proper container to take your worm's home so that you can start vermicomposting right away!
 
What do I need to bring?
You will need to purchase two Rubbermaid containers that are the same size. We recommend that the containers be at least 40 liters. Do NOT purchase the clear Rubbermaid containersbecause the worms will not survive, they like it nice and dark. Remember that the vermicomposting container will need to be kept inside your house, apartment, school, office/work place so make sure that the container is going to fit wherever you plan on keeping your new friends. We will retro fit your worm home at the workshop and provide bedding and all the necessities to get you started.
 
What will happen at the workshop?
You will learn all about your worms, how to take care of them and how to properly and successfully start vermicomposting. You will also receive a free vermicomposting manual that you can take home as a reference guide.
 
Help make your footprint on the planet a little greener.
Vermicomposting is a great way to start!

For more information contact Heather Taylor, EWSWA Programme Assistant-Special Projects, 519-776-6441 x229.

Canada-Ontario Agreement on the Great Lakes Extended to March 2011

 

Ottawa, Ontario - The 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA) has been extended to March 31, 2011. The agreement, signed in June 2007, was set to expire on March 31, 2010.

The COA establishes an action plan and clear roles and responsibilities between federal and provincial ministries, and helps Canada to meet its commitments under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. This one-year extension allows Canada and Ontario to continue their important work to protect and restore the Great Lakes while the governments of Canada and the U.S. negotiate amendments to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Efforts in the next year will continue to focus on all aspects of COA including protecting and restoring habitat, preventing pollution, cleaning up environmental hotspots, and working with partners to advance goals and objectives for lakewide sustainability. Four important lake specific projects for the year ahead are:

  • Preventing invasive species from entering Lake Superior
  • Dealing with algal blooms that foul Lake Huron beaches
  • Controlling nutrients from urban and rural sources around Lake Erie
  • Protecting the biodiversity of significant Lake Ontario shorelines and watersheds.

Once amendments are negotiated to the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canada and Ontario will have the foundation for future discussions on priorities for a new Canada-Ontario Agreement.

The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water on earth, containing roughly 18 per cent of the world's fresh surface water.They are home to millions of people, and are fundamental to the well-being of one-third of the population of Canada and one-tenth of the population of the United States. Eighty-seven per cent of Ontarians live within the watersheds of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, and more than 70 per cent of Ontarians get their drinking water directly from the lakes. The Great Lakes support 25 per cent of Canada's agricultural capacity and fishing and shipping in the lakes inject more than $7-billion annually into Ontario's economy.  The Great Lakes Basin ecosystem is home to more than 3,500 species of plants and animals, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

LEARN MORE:

Save the Date...
for these upcoming events

Enviro-Expo 2010
April 16 - 18, 2010  

Location: Caesars Windsor Convention Centre (map) Visit www.enviro-expo.org for more information on this event being hosted by the Essex Region Conservation Foundation.

Turkey Creek Native Plant Demonstration Garden: Weeding & Remulching
Saturday, April 17, 10 am to noon

Join the Friends of Turkey Creek to weed and re-mulch the Native Plant Demonstration Garden located where Turkey Creek passes under Matchette Road in LaSalle. Parking is available on Pope Street. For more information, contact Caroline at 519-776-5209, ext. 245 or cbiribauer@erca.org. High school students can receive community service hours.

Cleanup: Lower Detroit River, U.S.
Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 9 am

The Friends of the Detroit River (U.S.) will be holding their Annual Spring Lower Detroit River Cleanup on Saturday April 17th. Volunteers will be meeting at the Rotary Park at the foot of Harrison St., in Trenton, at 9 am. If you have any further questions or have a boat you would like to bring and/or launch at the park, please call the Friends at 734-676-4626 or visit www.detroitriver.org.

Open House: Now House Windsor 5
Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 1pm to 6 pm

The Now House Windsor 5 project has retrofitted five post-war bungalows into near zero energy homes. One home at 1291 Rankin Avenue, Windsor, Ontario is open for viewing.
  • Visit this 60-year-old post-war bungalow that has been taught to pay its own energy bills.
  • Take home some ideas of how to green your home-from spray foam insulation and energy-saving appliances to tankless water heaters and solar energy.
  • Bring the kids so they can test their Watt IQ in the electricity room.
  • See display panels that illustrate every step of the energy retrofit.
  • Check out the 1940s movie showing how wartime houses were built.

Download the event invitation

For more information, please visit www.nowhouseproject.com

Friends of Turkey Creek Meeting
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 7 pm

New members welcome! Meeting will take place at the Vollmer Complex, 1212 Laurier Parkway, LaSalle. Please meet in the Richard Bondy Tournament Office. For more information, contact Caroline at 519-776-5209, ext. 245 or cbiribauer@erca.org.

Essex-WinAll volunteersdsor Earth Day
Sunday, April 25, 2010 - 10 am to 3 pm

Come out to celebrate Earth Day at Mic Mac Park and Malden Park in Windsor (see map) for a variety of activities including exhibits, presentations, a barbecue, nature crafts, games, and a tree planting event.

You can also choose to join ERCA and its partners in planting 1500 trees at Malden Park, Windsor to celebrate Earth day. Take part in a Nature Scavenger Hunt and many other family activities, courtesy of the Suncor Energy Foundation. Cross the street to Mic Mac Park to enjoy more Earth Day Celebrations.

If you're interested in planting trees at Malden Park, make sure you Register Your Green Team.

Lake Erie Millennium Network Conference
April 27-29, 2010

Location: Ambassador Auditorium, CAW Student Centre, University of Windsor

The conference will summarize knowledge of recent changes occurring in Lake Erie and its tributaries. Presentations will review progress towards formulating research needs and plans, emphasizing the link between the lake and its inputs and outputs, and factors contributing to increasingly rapid rates of change. Platform sessions will highlight recent biological and environmental trends relating to trophic status, indicator development and reporting, ecological forecasting, integrated habitat characteristics, restoration strategies, and new pressures on the ecosystem. Preliminary steps for planning research and monitoring for the 2010 Lake Erie Field Year will be discussed. These topics will form the focus for open discussion of ways to integrate binational research with management and public needs on the major issues affecting Lake Erie.

Please visit www.lemn.org for more information and to register.

Smogfest Art Exhibition
May 1 to May 30, 2010

Visit Milk Coffee Bar (68 University Avenue W, Windsor, Ontario) during the month of May to view and bid on local art representing our dismal air quality and other environmental issues. Please contact the Citizens Environment Alliancefor more information (519-973-1116).

Turkey Creek Community Tree Planting & Cleanup
Saturday, May 1, 2010  - 9 am to 1 pm

Join the Friends of Turkey Creek for a community tree planting and cleanup at Grand Marais Road, Windsor on Saturday, May 1, 2010 from 9 am to 1 pm. Lunch will be provided for all volunteers. For more information, please contact Caroline at 519-776-5209, ext. 245.

High school students can receive community service hours.

Friends of Cedar Creek Garlic Mustard Pull at Camp Cedarwin
Sunday, May 2, 2010 - 1 pm to 4 pm

Join the Friends of Cedar Creek for a Garlic Mustard pull at Camp Cedarmwin. Directions: enter the Camp from the back entrance, off County Road 20, just west of County Road 23/Arner Townline. For more information, please contact Caroline at 519-776-5209, ext. 245.

High school students can receive community service hours.

International Wildlife Refuge Alliance - 5th Annual Benefit Dinner
Saturday, June 5, 2010

The International Wildlife Refuge Alliance is hosting its 5th Annual Benefit Dinner on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the Pointe Mouille State Game Area, Brownstown, Michigan. For more information, please contact the IWRA at iwr_alliance@yahoo.com or 734-692-7671.

Environmental Job Postings

These postings are for jobs at various locations in Ontario. Please click on the job title to view job details. Contact the listed agency in the job ad for more information. Note: the links will expire soon after the deadline has passed. Note: the links will expire after the deadline closes.

email: postmaster@detroitriver.ca
phone: 519-982-DRCC (3722)
web: http://www.detroitriver.ca