The 2005 Peel Children's Water Festival

CVC staff educating students at the Peel Children's Water Festival

With over 6000 children at the Heart Lake Conservation Area in Brampton, the 2005 Peel Children's Water Festival provided children an opportunity to become more aware of our River and its environment in a fun and interactive display.

CVC participated in the event with an activity entitled “Fishes of the Credit”. Children were able to learn about the health of the river by catching both sensitive and tolerant fish (pretend) out of different sides of a fictional river. One side depicted a clean, pristine river and the other a polluted, degraded area. Children learned that we can determine whether or not a river is healthy by the types of fish that live there.

Our staff volunteers had as much fun as the children who attended the event and are a key component of our display at the festival. A very big thank-you to all those who made the event possible.

Walter Huk donates painting to CVC

Peter Orphanus, Walter Huk and Rae Horst (GM, CVC) stand infront of painting.

At CVC’s April Board meeting, Peter Orphanos of Best Environment for Streetsville (BEST) presented a limited edition print to Credit Valley Conservation. The original painting was created by Walter Huk (Peter Orphanos’ father - in - law), and depicts one of his favourite areas of the Credit River. “This painting represents our dedication and commitment to the CVC, " said Peter.

Peel Rural Water Quality brochure cover

The Region of Peel, in partnership with Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA), have developed the Peel Rural Water Quality Program (PRWQP) to support agricultural landowners as they try to make a better connection between agriculture, rural land use and the environment. This program was developed with input from local farmers and residents as well as representatives from the Peel Federation of Agriculture and the Peel Soil and Crop Improvement Association. This program provides technical and financial resources to qualified rural landowners, to continue their efforts as environmental stewards. Environmental stewards are people like you, who care for their land and water resources through the implementation of beneficial management practices. These can include, but are not limited to: restricting livestock access to waterways, planting vegetative buffer strips and windbreaks, storing manure in appropriate structures, protecting wells, diverting clean water, and preparing a nutrient management plan.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE?
Private landowners living in the Region of Peel who have an approved Environmental Farm Plan (EFP), are eligible for funding assistance. If you have not completed an EFP, you should contact the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association at 1-800-265-9751 for more information and upcoming workshop dates in your community.

Contact Dave Beaton, Community Stewardship Specialist, CVC at 1-800-668-5557 or 905-670-1615 if you would like to receive a brochure or discuss a potential project on your property or check out the details at the Peel Agricultural Advisory Working Group webpage.

In a tag-team effort, SGI volunteers finished the work that Caledon Countryside Alliance volunteers had begun. Together they managed to give Ken Whillans Conservation Area a thorough and much needed cleanup. Clint Collis, CVC’s newly appointed lead hand in charge of Ken Whillans and Belfountain was very pleased with these efforts. “Community support for cleanups and maintenance allow me to focus more efforts on programming and improvements around the Conservation Areas.” Thanks a lot to all the volunteers that came out to help.

Ken Whillans cleanup crew

In a similar effort, Orangeville Knights of Columbus volunteers and a very helpful neighbour came together to plant 150 trees and shrubs on a property adjacent to CVC’s Skywood Park in Caledon. The planting site is a former Region of Peel wellsite that was transferred to CVC this spring. The planting will act as a buffer to protect the portion of the Provincially Significant Speersville Wetland Complex and the Rosehill Swamp Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) located within Skywood Park. Thanks to all these Orangeville troopers that come out every year.