NATURE
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Rare treasures aplenty seen during visit to White Lake Fen EMC lifestyle – The Ottawa Valley is rich with habitats. Towering hardwood forests cast shade on the leaves of trilliums and hepaticas. Extensive tracts of White Pine, the trees that ďŹ rst brought industry to our region, line river shores. Younger forests have sprung up where poor-yielding ďŹ elds have been abandoned. And rivers, lakes, and ponds adorn the landscape all through the region. Other wetlands abound. Cedar swamps, undoubtedly more common before cedar fence posts came into fashion, border streams and lowlands. The Madawaska Highlands provide cooler recesses in which northern peatlands form. Bogs and fens are oating worlds where Sphagnum Moss harbours carnivorous plants such as Pitcher-plants and Ericaceous shrubs such as Labrador Tea. While bogs receive their water and nutrients only from precipitation, fens receive theirs from moving water. White Lake is home to a very special fen, one that harbours many unusual plants and animals. Last Sunday I led a small group of Macnamara Field Naturalists’ Club members into the White Lake Fen in search of orchids and other treasures.
Michael Runtz Nature’s Way On our way to the fen we walked through a dark cedar and spruce swamp. Here we encountered dozens of Showy Lady’s-slippers, all in peak ower. Seed stalks of Pink and Yellow lady’sslippers were also seen. Not all of the orchids were as conspicuous as the lady’sslippers; the tiny Green Adders-mouths were never seen until nearly underfoot. A thousand pink orchids greeted our arrival at the fen. Most were Rose Pogonias, stunning little orchids with a bearded lower lip. We saw one pure white individual, the rare albiform, which I had not seen before. Less common but still well represented were taller Grass Pinks whose bearded lip (labellum) lay atop the ower, not on the bottom as in pogonias and other orchids.
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Thank you to a great community The McNab-Braeside Residents for Recreation committee would like to express our appreciation to everyone who wrote to our Mayor and Council members. Also to those who attended our Rally for Recreation on June 5th 2012. Without your actions we would not have achieved our goal for access to recreation for our community. We would also like to give a special thank you to Councillors Styles and McIlquham for their understanding on how access to active recreation beneďŹ ts our community as a whole. McNab-Braeside Residents for Recreation www.MBResidentsForRecreation.com
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white pruinescence while the black-andyellow females looked much more like bees. Sphagnum Sprites, tiny damselies that weakly ew off whenever we approached, and poison-spined Buck Moth caterpillars, were other entomological highlights. We are privileged to have rare habitats such as the White Lake Fen right in our backyard. If you want see ElďŹ n Skimmers and Grass Pinks, why not join the Macnamara Field Naturalists’ Club (mfnc.ca)? Next year we will return to the fen and many other habitats to see old friends and make new acquaintances. Michael Runtz photo
The Nature Number is 613-387-2503; email address is mruntz@start.ca.
EMC news – The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is celebrating 50 years of conservation by inviting Canadians to take Time for Nature this summer. And that includes encouraging the public to visit Arnprior’s jewel, the old-growth forest in Gillies Grove. In a news release Tuesday, NCC challenged Canadians to incorporate nature into their summer vacation plans, and then to share those experiences, through the Time for Nature website: www.natureconservancy.ca/timefornature. “Whether it be hiking, birding, camping, canoeing, or simply exploring the nature in your backyard or neighbourhood, each Time for Nature story shared on the website will inspire others to reconnect with the natural world,� it says. The challenge is part of the nation’s leading land conservation organization’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and is designed to encourage more Canadians to appreciate and enjoy all that nature offers. NCC is also thanking Canadians for their generous support by inviting them to see some of the places they have helped NCC to conserve — in total, more than 2.6 million acres (1 million hectares), coast to coast. NCC has more than a few suggestions to help Canadians choose where to spend their Time for Nature and reconnect with the natural world. The Time for Nature website, www. natureconservancy.ca/timefornature highlights NCC properties and natural areas across the country that are perfect for reconnecting with nature. In Ontario, NCC is urging people and families to visit several properties that offer spectacular views and experiences. The
EMC lifestyle - Have you always wanted to paddle the Bonnechere, take a bike ride with friends, take a canvas and paint outdoors, or take a guided herb walk? Now you have a chance to do one or more of these activities this summer in the Bonnechere River watershed area. The Nature in Your Neighbourhood excursion series, is a collaborative initiative of the Ottawa River Institute and the Bonnechere River Watershed
Project. On Saturday, July 28, explore the lower section of the Bonnechere River from your canoe or kayak, as Ole Hendrickson and Kathy Lindsay co-lead a leisurely paddle excursion downriver from Renfrew, between the Second Chute and the conuence of the Bonnechere with the Ottawa River at Castleford. Explore the river, its vegetation, wildlife and geology, and drink in the beauty of the First
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10 Arnprior Chronicle-Guide EMC - Thursday, June 28, 2012
news release highlights three: • Gilles Grove, nestled within the eastern community of Arnprior, that is home to majestic hemlocks, maples and one of the last remaining old-growth white pine communities; • Florian Diamante Nature Reserve on Pelee Island that boasts tree and shrub alvar, with open meadows perfect for viewing migrant songbirds and rare plants such as Short aster. • Happy Valley Forest north of Toronto with 110 breeding bird species, including the hooded warbler and the Acadian ycatcher. For more NCC properties to visit in Ontario, visit www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/ontario/visit. Meanwhile, staff at NCC are leading by example. This summer, in a Canadian ďŹ rst, all staff at the organization will turn off their cell phones and email for a few days, and leave the ofďŹ ce behind to reconnect with the great outdoors. Their adventures will help them to renew their appreciation for the natural world they work to protect every day. The health beneďŹ ts of nature are many and well documented, and include lowering stress, improving mood and cognitive function and reducing allergies and other inammatory diseases, says the NCC. A 2010 poll by Ipsos Reid showed that nine in 10 Canadians agreed they are happier when they feel connected to nature. In a related story, MoneySense Magazine ranks the Nature Conservancy of Canada as Canada's top environmental charity. For the third year in a row, the NCC is recognized as one of Canada's most responsible and efďŹ cient charities.
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A floral treasure found in the White Lake Fen.
NCC promotes Gillies Grove as tourism destination for all Canadians to enjoy
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Pogonias and Grass Pinks both look as if they have a rich supply of pollen on their lip. However, the buffet is merely a ruse for the masses are modiďŹ ed hairs. By deceiving hungry bees, the clever orchids achieve their pollination. Grass Pinks ensure their insect visitors do the job by dropping them onto their sexual organs via a collapsing petal, one triggered into action by the bee’s weight. We also saw White Bog Orchids, which smell like cloves, poking their tall white columns above carnivorous Pitcher-plants and sundews Looking down as we walked allowed us to see the tiny ElďŹ n Skimmers, which at less than an inch in length are the smallest dragonies in North America! The males bear a characteristic coat of
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Chute, one of the most scenic spots on the entire Bonnechere. Paddlers are asked to meet with a canoe/kayak, oatation devices, and other safety equipment at 32 Bridge St. in Renfrew at 10 a.m. Proceed down the gravel road to the base of the second chute to the small parking area. The trip is about 15 km in length and will take about ďŹ ve hours, including a 200-metre portage around the First Chute. Shallow water levels may require some wading. The paddle will ďŹ nish at the Horton Township boat launch, at the bridge on River Road, where participants can be shuttled back to Renfrew.
The last of the Nature in Your Neighbourhood excursion series will take place Sunday, Aug. 19, in partnership with the 2012 Tour de Bonnechere, when cyclists are invited to join with others for a group bike excursion. Celebrate cycling and take in the wonders of nature in the Bonnechere River watershed area as you tour your choice of the 20-, 50- or 100-km routes. Pre-register with Gearheads at 613-687-4624. The morning of the tour, sign in at the Legion Field Park in Eganville between 8 and 8:30 a.m., for a departure at 9 a.m. Cost is $20, and pot-luck lunch. For more see www.ottawariverinstitute.ca.
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