Actions to Protect Biodiversity
Spring Peeper Photo credit: JOHN MITCHELL
Frogwatch
Frogwatch began as a pilot programme in Halifax County, Nova Scotia in 1994. Thousands of students, Girl Guides, Beavers, families and individuals listened for, recorded and reported the calls of the Northern Spring Peeper (Nova Scotia's diminutive treefrog).
In the spring of 1995, Frogwatch volunteers will make observations across the whole of Nova Scotia, collecting data on the seasonal changes heralded by the spring peeper. Teachers, their students and other volunteers can participate in the programme by contacting: Frogwatch, c/o Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3A6. Fax 902-424-0560.
Lady Beetle Survey
Canada's current endangered species lists and recovery programs ignore over 95 percent of Canadian species, including all the invertebrates and non-vascular plants. To fill this big gap in biodiversity conservation, the Canadian Nature Federation (CNF)initiated the Endangered Plants and Invertebrates in Canada (EPIC) programme.
EPIC species form the essential "backbone" of ecosystems: without them the more conspicuous species cannot survive. To raise awareness of the importance of EPIC species and the need to conserve them and their habitats, CNF is launching a Canada-wide Lady Beetle Survey. It will rely on the participation of Canadians from all walks of life. The results will be mapped to track the distribution of Lady Beetles and the determine the effects of introduced species on native ones. To get involved, buy the spring issue of CNF's Nature Canada magazine which provides the Lady Beetle Survey identification guide and report form or contact CNF directly (order magazine using form on back page. See CNF address on back page).
Heritage Seeds and Rare Breeds
You don't have to be a farmer to have a back-yard garden or become involved in a community garden where you can grow some wonderful and bonuntiful heirloom varieties of vegetables or grains. You can even become a heritage seed-saver! If you are a farmer, you can raise a breed of rare livestock or poultry. Rare Breeds Canada (Joywind Farm Rare Breeds Conservancy) has a number of projects in which you can get involved, including a Heritage Hatchery Network and a Satellite Breeding Network. If you are an urban dweller you can adopt-an-animal through the Rare Care Program to help pay for the upkeep of particularly rare farm animals. To see some rare and heritage varieties of animals and plants, visit a demonstration farm. There are a number located across Canada. Contact Heritage Seed Programme, RR #3, Uxbridge, Ontario L9P 1R3 and/or Rare Breeds Canada (see address on back page).
Trail building in Clayoquot Sound Photo credit: JOE FOY
Wilderness Volunteers
Western Canada Wilderness Committee runs all its oldgrowth forest research and educational wilderness-saving campaigns with the help of volunteers. Hands-on volunteer programmes run year-round in the Committee's Vancouver, Victoria and Edmonton offices. To save wilderness areas like Clayquot Sound, the Northern Rockies and the Caribou Mountains, lots of people have to understand the issues and write letters to politicians, sign petitions, attend rallies and pack public meetings. This means long nights for WCWC volunteers, stuffing hundreds of thousands of envelopes with newspapers like this one, to educate and mobilize people into action. In the summer wilderness volunteers build trails into endangered wilderness areas, taking photos of both the beauty and the nearby threats. Contact: WCWC (address on back page) or call 1-800-661-9453.
Project FeederWatch
Thousands of people across the U.S. and Canada have turned their bird feeder into a valuable research tool. By joining Project FeederWatch, they become part of an official, ongoing survey of winter birds. Scientists compare FeederWatch species counts from year to year, monitoring winter bird population trends and continent-wide distributions. FeederWatchers are making important contribuions to the knowledge of North American birds. Contact: Project FeederWatch, Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO), Box 160, Point Rowan, ON N0E 1M0.
Canadian Lakes Loon Survey
If you can visit a lake at least once a month in June, July and August, the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey (CLLS) would like your help. CLLS gathers info about the future of the Common Loon in Canada by recruiting volunteer loon watchers who monitor loon populations, nesting sites and chick survival. The Common Loon is being used as a biomonitor of ecosystem health, helping to evaluate the effects of acid rain and human disturbance upon lake water quality and bird survival. To receive a survey kit complete with instructions, send your name and address and the name and location of the lake(s) you wish to survey to: Canadian Lakes Loon Survey, LBPO (see Project Feederwatch for address).
Marsh Monitoring Program
The Marsh Monitoring Programme (MMP) was initiated to ascertain the health of marshes in the Great Lakes basin by monitoring marsh bird and amphibian populations during the breeding season. Volunteers use a monitoring kit, including tapes of amphibian and bird sounds. All species of marsh birds have experienced major population declines throughout the Great Lakes. Declines in amphibian populations are noticeable world-wide. Yet relevant quantitative data regarding these declines are meagre at best. The information gained through the MMP will fill the need for baseline data. Contact: Marsh Monitoring Programme, LPBO (see Project FeederWatch for address).
Biodiversity in Your Backyard
Let your backyard go wild! If you have a backyard, it's easy to support biodiversity by supplying the three staples for all life: water, food, and shelter. Provide a bird bath that will attract not only birds but pollinating insects and even chipmunks. Or, if you have the space, create a pond that will atrract an even wilder variety of species incluing frogs, toads, salemanders, and a host of birds. Supply wild food by planting perennials such as fruit and nut trees, nectar producing flowers and berry bushes. The trees and bushes also provide natural shelter. But remember, insecticides and herbicides are out! They kill the "good" with the "bad". The spring 1995 issue of Canadian Nature Federation's Nature Canada is devoted to Biodiversity in Your Backyard. Order your copy using the form on back page of this paper.
Yellow Warbler. Photo credit: JOHN MITCHELL
Christmas Bird Count
On one day a year near Christmas time, thousands of Canadians participate in a country-wide bird count. Volunteers spend the day tallying birds in a specifically-assigned location. They are provided with lists, station points and survey sheets. If they're not already knowledgeable about local birds they are given some training on bird identification. For more information contact your local Naturalist group or contact Canadian Nature Federation, 1 Nicholas St., Ste. 520, Ottawa ON K1N 7B7. Phone 1-800-267-4088.
You Can Make a Difference
- Pledge to paricipate in one "hands-on" activity to monitor and conserve biodiversity.
- Write letters to politicians and other decision-makers. Tell them how you feel about legislation and action to protect Canada's biodiversity.
- Join and support one or more conservation groups fighting to protect Canada's biodiversity. Our strength is in our numbers!
Alberta Wildflower Survey
Since 1973, the Alberta Wildflower Survey has coordinated volunteers to report the flowering times of 15 key Albertan wildflower species. The information is being used by scientists in many fields including agriculture and climate change. Soon the survey will be expanded to include a student network that will report flowering dates for Prairie Crocus, Saskatoon, and the Common Purple Lilac via the Internet. Checked data will be posted to the Internet with weather and current satellite images, to track the "green wave" of spring. Interested teachers and volunteers please contact: Devonian Botanic Garden, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1. Ph 403-987-3055, Fax 403-987-4141.
