The Biosphere Association’s multi-year Six Streams Initiative is tackling the key sources of aquatic impairment and raising the awareness of a healthy ecosystem. This work engages the agricultural and residential communities in voluntary environmental actions. One focus of this initiative is to exclude cattle from the six sub-watersheds with fencing, alternate solar-powered cattle watering systems, followed by stream bed and bank restoration enhancing the riparian zone. This work provides a naturalized stream corridor that can buffer the impact of adjacent agricultural activities. For 2017, we:
• installed 6 solar powered watering systems and 1880 m of fencing to exclude pasturing cattle from streams. The 2012 to 2017 totals are more than 12 km of fencing and 66 watering systems installed.
• excluded 850 more cattle from streams, bringing the total to more than 5200 cattle, with a reduction of phosphorus loading by an estimated one tonne each year.
Nearest city or town: Ferndale, Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula
Project start date: April 3, 2017
End date: March 30, 2018
Project focus: Education / Outreach
Project contact: Katherine McLeod