Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, published five times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.
Volume 15, Number 4 • Winter 2007
Lake Huron
Basin Update - Canada Side
A Stewardship Guide for the Lake Huron Coastline
By Geoff Peach, Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation
Kathy Grechuta, Stewardship Manual Coordinator
Great concern over the declining health
of the Lake Huron coastline in recent
years has prompted local community
organizations to develop innovative tools
for improving the coastal environment.
Water quality impairments have been
consistently linked to agricultural runoff,
sewage plant discharges, faulty septic
systems, and property management
practices. While farm programs existed
to help farmers make environmental improvements, and sewage
plant upgrades were underway in many localities, few resources
existed for coastal residents to learn about and adopt best stewardship
practices.
The Stewardship Guide for the Lake Huron Coastline was developed
as a workbook and resource for lakeshore landowners to adopt best
stewardship practices to improve water quality, habitat, and
stewardship of the natural shoreline corridor. The overriding goal of
the Lake Huron Stewardship program is to encourage sustainable
use of the coast that maintains the quality of our water - both
groundwater and surface water - and the natural landscape features
that support our coast’s ecosystems.While the Guide was developed
to help individuals to adopt practices on their property, community
based organizations like local beach associations were encouraged
to become involved in order to promote collective adoption and
implementation of the Guide.
From its conception to implementation, a high level of community
engagement was instrumental in the success of the Stewardship
Guide. Over the past two years, the project has worked with a
number of lakeshore and cottage associations and community
groups. Twenty-seven workshops were held in various communities
along the lakeshore, with over 390 participants each receiving their
own guide. The focus has been as much on engaging lakeshore
residents as it has on community capacity-building. Various
participants initiated, promoted, organized and engaged others in
their communities. This aspect of the program has been vital in
fostering a long-term stewardship ethic within the greater
community.
The Stewardship Guide process encourages participants to think
about how they care for their property and the broader beach
community from a new perspective. Participants are asked to think
from a new point of view about the land, the buildings and
structures on their property, and how actions affect the larger landscape.
They then rate how they affect the environment and water
quality around their property. Finally, participants consider ways of
using and maintaining their property in order to decrease the risks
to precious natural resources. Topics addressed include but are not
limited to proper disposal of pesticides and chemicals, septic tank
maintenance, and more environmentally conscious gardening and
landscaping.
The Lake Huron Stewardship Guide Project has forged links between
economy, environment, and community. The guide is a tool to help
shape healthier attitudes towards the environment. A clean
environment ensures that the tourism industry on which many of
these coastal municipalities are reliant remains vibrant and healthy.
For many of these communities, Lake Huron is their greatest asset
and that asset looses its appeal if it can no longer retain its
recreational value due to declining water quality. Bacteria and algae
pollution have become issues that coastal residents are seeing with
greater frequency. The motivation to act has helped people to see
the value of the Guide as a useful resource to bring about positive
change.
For a copy of the Lake Huron Stewardship Guide go to www.huronstewardship.on.ca/images/storiesstewardshipmanual.pdf.
Contact Geoff Peach, Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation
for more info: (519) 523-4478 or geoff.peach@lakehuron.on.ca
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