October 28 , 2015 issue 43

Page 1

the north grenville

www.ngtimes.ca

TIMES

Vol. 3, No. 43

The Voice of North Grenville

Friends of the Ferguson Forest Centre celebrate

The North Grenville Times is Locally Owned and Operated

Friends of the Ferguson Forest Centre elected their board of directors for 2016 at the October 21 AGM L – R: Monica Wallace, Jeslyn Thibedeau (and Bellamy), Todd MacDonald, Catherine Woolham, Liza Duhaime, Jim Beckett, Karen Nash, Joanne Joyce Labossiere, Bill Wallace, Jane Hunt.

by Pat Babin The Friends of the Ferguson Forest Centre, under the enthusiastic leadership of Liza Duhaime, held their 10th AGM last Wednesday in the beautiful Spencerville Room of the Grenville Mutual Insurance Company. In her annual report, Liza highlighted some of the accomplishments of the FFFC in 2015. The group conducted a cleanup of high-traffic areas in Ferguson Forest. The result? Nine tires and 30 bags of trash. A birding walk to coincide with International Migratory Bird Day was held, guided by Dave Moore and Bev McBride, of the Ottawa FieldNaturalists’ Club. A Tree Identification workshop was led by Alf

Campbell, veteran forester. A veritable Tree Fest! Alf, who has been closely involved in forestry in this area for sixty years, and remains passionate about FFC, designed many of these trails. On a Nature Walk guided by Gordon Robertson of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, a wide variety of flora and fauna was observed and discussed. Many butterflies were seen in the wildflower field, a wonderful addition to the FFC. Peter Fischl and Derek Steele of the Lanark Wild Food Club led a walk during which edible plants were identified. A number of highly poisonous plants were located, including Baneberry, one of the most dangerous in North America. This year, the Annual As-

tronomy Night was conducted by Steve Wendt and James Quinn, both affiliated with the North Gower Science Club. The FFFC participated in the 8th annual North Grenville Sustainability Fair, at which white spruce seedlings were handed out. For the 4th consecutive year, Shawn Yakimovich, Naturopathic Doctor in Kemptville, led the group along paths and roadways and introduced them to a multitude of medicinal plants. Canoeists and kayakers spent a wonderful morning on the water of the South Branch, admiring wildlife and the idyllic place that Ferguson Forest Centre is. A majestic Blue Heron was spotted. Looking ahead to 2016 and beyond, the Friends plan to develop the arboretum,

a 25-acre area north of Anniversary Park. It will soon become a place where all lovers of the outdoors can stroll and enjoy the diversity of nature in the midst of native meadows, wetlands, and woodlands. Amazing how a relatively small group of Friends can do so much in the course of a year! Even more amazing is that they will continue offering these programs again next year! The Ferguson Forest Centre is indeed fortunate to have such an industrious group of goodwill ambassadors. Thanks to the Friends, the “Forest” is continuing to be an integral part of the Municipality. More and more of our citizens are discovering this majestic green space in the heart of Kemptville.

October 28, 2015


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