City of Peterborough Encourages Residents to Celebrate Nature During the Great Canadian BioBlitz

The City of Peterborough invites residents to step outside and celebrate the beauty of nature, while learning more about local biodiversity during the Great Canadian BioBlitz starting Sunday until Sept. 28.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The City describes a bioblitz as a fun and educational way to record observations of plants, animals, and fungi, which helps scientists better understand local population sizes and biodiversity trends. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for people to connect with the outdoors and explore the natural beauty of our city,” said City Councillors Joy Lachica and Kevin Duguay. “Whether you’re spotting birds, identifying trees, or just enjoying the fall colours, nature is something we all benefit from in Peterborough.” 

The City encourages residents to visit a City park to participate in self-guided bio-blitzes using the iNaturalist app. A complete list of the City’s parks can be found at peterborough.ca/parks. 

The Peterborough Field Naturalists are leading three guided walks in Peterborough-area parks to help residents learn more about the species living in the region.

• A tree Identification Forest Walk takes place Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 6:30 p.m.to 8 p.m. at Ecology Park, 1899 Ashburnham Dr. Meet at the shelter in the middle of the park by 6:30 p.m. 

• Two Mushroom Identification Walks are taking place on Sunday, Sept.r 21 and Sunday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park, 846 Highway 7. Register for the walks at peterboroughnature.org/events.   

These free family-friendly walks are open to all levels of nature enthusiasts.

To learn how to use iNaturalist, visit the Peterborough Public Library Learning Portal. Nature sightings can be uploaded directly to the Great Canadian BioBlitz project page in the iNaturalist app using the following link.

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Federal Government Announces $8.5 Million Funding of Two Projects For Conservation Efforts and Ecosystem Protection In Peterborough.

The Federal Government has invested over $8.5 million in funding for two projects that will help advance conservation efforts and protect ecosystems in Peterborough, announced at Jackson Park on Thursday afternoon.

File Photo.

The announcement was made by Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, and Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

“Protecting nature is one of the best and easiest ways that we can fight climate change,” said Valdez. “These vital ecosystems, like those here in Peterborough, absorb carbon and increase our communities’ resilience to the effects of climate change.”

The Government of Canada has launched the largest conservation campaign in the country’s history in order to meet its emissions reduction targets and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 according to Valdez.

“Our government has launched the largest ever conservation campaign in Canada’s history, with a goal of protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters in Canada,” she said. “That starts with protecting spaces like these. The long-term benefits are enormous, getting us closer to our climate goals and protecting forever the critical habitat of so many species.”

The projects being funded under the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund are:

• $7 million for the Kawartha Land Trust to support its work to advance conservation efforts under way by securing an additional 566 hectares of intact temperate forest and freshwater coastal habitat to support 28 species at risk

• $1.586 million for the Association of Conservation Authorities of Ontario to protect vital ecosystems from destruction and fund activities that protect at-risk species, including Snapping Turtle, False Hop Sedge and Chimney Swift

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Trent Valley Archives Offering New Walking Tour Through Jackson Park

Trent Valley Archives (TVA) is offering a new hour and a half walking tour through Peterborough’s Jackson Park on Thursday, June 15.

photo courtesy of trent valley archives.

Jackson Park began as an industrial site before it became a public park in the 1890’s. Later the site of an amusement park and a spot to show outdoor films, the park then became a camp for children with alternative needs in the 1960’s when the City took over the park.

Led by noted historian Karen Carter-Edwards, the tour will explore the fascinating history of this wonderful Peterborough landmark. Participants can discover where the gamblers den, Devil’s gap and famous beach were located.

The tour meets in the upper parking lot through the main gates off Monaghan Road and will commence at 2 p.m.. It will run rain or shine, so TVA asks that participants dress appropriately for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.

The cost is $20 per person and registration/payment in advance is required. Tickets are available on the website by reserving with Heather at 705-745-4404, or by email.

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City of Peterborough to Operate a Community Bio-Blitz Starting Friday

Peterborough is taking part in a community bio-blitz from Friday to Monday as part of the City Nature Challenge competition, announced by The City of Peterborough on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The City describes a bio-blitz as a ‘survey that identifies wildlife with the goal to understand the biodiversity of a location,’ according to a press release. Nature observations made are uploaded using the iNaturalist app and posted to the Peterborough event page. All natural areas in the city are eligible for nature sightings.

At the end of the bio-blitz, wildlife observations will be tallied to determine the winning communities in Canada.

On Saturday, the City of Peterborough and Peterborough Field Naturalists will host a bio-blitz at Jackson Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It features family-friendly nature walks for residents to learn how to make nature observations while exploring the park. Walks will be approximately one hour, with the first tour at 9 a.m. and the last at 2 p.m., with a break at noon. Guided tours start at the event base camp booth located near the Jackson Park pond and Pagoda Bridge. Residents can also participate in wildlife surveys throughout the park.   

A tree will be planted in Jackson Park to celebrate the event as part of the City of Peterborough’s Urban Forestry program.

More information is at peterborough.ca/bioblitz.

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Photos: Volunteers Make Jackson Park A Little Greener With Earth Day Cleanup

Gunther Schubert (left) and Ken Clare (right) give up their day by cleaning up litter throughout Jackson Park and Jackson Creek Trail on Earth Day held on Saturday. All photos by David Tuan Bui.

Several local community volunteers picked up litter along Jackson Park and Jackson Creek Trail during Earth Day on Saturday morning into the afternoon.

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New Public Art Installation To Be Viewed and Celebrated at Jackson Park

The public art installation Handwritten Moon will be displayed at Jackson Park on Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of The County of Peterborough.

Handwritten Moon is a collaboration between the sculptor Garrett “Owen” Gilbart who fabricated the artwork, and poet Justin Million who wrote the text.

The piece was commissioned as an artist-initiated project through the City of Peterborough’s Public Art Program.

In daylight the reflective text piece takes on hues found in the nearby landscape. On a clear night it reflects the moon. Handwritten Moon also responds to flash photography or a flashlight, and the public is encouraged to bring flashlights or headlamps to experience the piece.

The event will be held rain or shine at Jackson Pond near the Pagoda bridge in Jackson Park.

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New Public Artwork Installed At Jackson Park Sits Just Below The Surface Of Jackson Pond

A new public artwork, Handwritten Moon, created by two local artists was installed in Jackson Park on Monday.

File Photo.

The metalwork text piece, entitled Handwritten Moon, is the result of a collaboration between the sculptor, Garrett “Owen” Gilbart, who fabricated the artwork, and the poet, Justin Million, who wrote the text.

Considering land, water and sky and the ways in which water shapes and cleanses us, Gilbart conceived the artwork as text set over a distorted Victorian bookplate hovering just below the surface of Jackson Pond and he commissioned Million to compose the text.

“After talking with Garrett about possible themes and inspirations for this project, I started asking myself a couple of questions: What kind of phrase would be aesthetically striking to read as laid over landscape? What kind of phrase can be both evocative and provocative, while also being respectful to any conceivable onlooker? I wanted anyone who may read it to feel something whether it is something about themselves or about the land,” Million said in the project proposal.

Handwritten Moon will be submerged in Jackson Pond near the Pagoda bridge until just before it freezes in late autumn and will be reinstalled next spring.

Handwritten Moon was commissioned as an artist-initiated project through the City’s Public Art Program. Special projects, such as artist-initiated projects, are a key area of focus of the Public Art Program that enable the program to keep up with emergent practices and provide opportunities for artists to experiment.

The call for proposals was issued this spring and was open to both established and emerging artists, artist teams and collectives, including those interested in expanding their practices into the public realm for the first time. Artists could propose artworks in any scale, scope and medium in any part of the city. The competition received eleven submissions.

City public art projects are reviewed by selection committees composed of five members of the community with interests or expertise in contemporary art, architecture, design, engineering, history, or cultural tourism. The members of the Artist-initiated Projects selection committee were Su Ditta from the City’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee, and Jon Lockyer, Shenoa Poirier, Frank Flynn, and Cydney Langill from the community at large. 

“This public art commission responds creatively and ingeniously to the site selected by the artists - grounded in the land and changing our perception of place in a way that transforms public spaces to bring new meaning to both Peterborough’s built and natural heritage.”  said Su Ditta from the City’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee.

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Enjoy Beautiful Jackson Park This Thanksgiving Weekend

The leaves are changing just in time for Thanksgiving Weekend here in Peterborough and there is no better place to go and see them than Jackson Park!

Whether for family photos or just a chance to take in the Autumn air, be sure to go for a stroll on the many trails.

Parking is usually pretty cramped in the entrance off Fairbairn Street, so don't forget the huge parking and entrance just off Bonaccord Street.

—post & photos by Evan Holt

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250 Year Old Trees Discovered In Beautiful Jackson Creek Old-Growth Forest

A new study from Ancient Forest Exploration & Research describes an old-growth forest in Jackson Park along the shores of Jackson Creek that includes 250-year-old trees.

New research has revealed that the trees here are commonly 150 to 200 years old. The oldest trees are estimated to be about 250 years old, though some may be older. The largest trees are nearly a meter in diameter and 35 meters (over 10 stories) tall.

Photo by Michael Henry

“By any definition used in Ontario, this is an old-growth forest,” says Michael Henry, an ecologist with Ancient Forest Exploration & Research who led the study. “Urban old-growth forests like this are rare, and have a lot of value for biodiversity conservation, education, and nature appreciation.”

Photo by Michael Henry

Peterborough is one of only eight urban areas in Ontario with an identified old-growth forest, according to Henry, although others may be found in future.

Photo by Michael Henry

The 4.5 hectare (11 acre) forest has been named the Jackson Creek Old-Growth Forest.

A summary of the report by Henry can be read here. 

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Pagoda Bridge In Jackson Park To Undergo Restoration

The City of Peterborough has hired Wilson Carpentry from Peterborough to undertake an extensive restoration of the Pagoda Bridge located in Jackson Park. The project will address structural and roof components required due to significant deterioration.

File Photo By Evan Holt

Work is scheduled to start this week and will continue for eight to 10 weeks. This preservation project is important, as the bridge is a significant piece of Peterborough's architectural heritage.

In order to ensure public and worker safety, the bridge—which made our list of top romantic spots in Peterborough—will be closed to pedestrian travel beginning August 27th for about six weeks. Pedestrians should plan alternate routes during this period.

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