2022
Restoring Habitat at Willoughby Nature Reserve with Youth Community Members
Project Objective
The project aims to connect youth to nature, educate them on the biodiversity within the Credit Valley watershed and to raise awareness towards the environmental issues taking place in nature in their own backyard.
The goal of this project is to connect local youth to nature. Ontario Nature and the Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) will co-host an event in September 2022 with two components: 1) in the morning, youth will help with a riparian planting and trail improvement project, and 2) in the afternoon, we will lead a hike, educating youth on the biodiversity within the watershed, and how their work will positively benefit the Willoughby Nature Reserve. By tackling real environmental issues through the riparian and trail improvement project, youth will see firsthand how their involvement will improve the reserve. They will understand the impacts of human activity in natural spaces and what can be done to protect these important habitats. During the hike, staff will identify birds, plants and trees that are found on the property and inform youth on community science online platforms they can contribute to, such as naturalist and eBird. Providing youth with opportunities to connect with nature and engage in community science initiatives will enable them to become better environmental stewards.
Before the event, CVC staff will promote and recruit youth volunteers. CVC staff will ensure all youth participants are registered, have completed COVID-19 screening questions, provided their contact information for tracing, have appropriate PPE (e.g., long pants, work gloves, masks, etc.), and will adhere to the CVC and Ontario Nature’s COVID-19 event protocol for the duration of the event. For CVC’s most recent COVID-19 protocols and participant requirements, visit: https://cvc.ca/for-teens/youth-4-the-credit/. For Ontario Nature’s COVID-19 event protocol, please find the document under the “COVID-19 contingency plans” section.
Should this event be unable to occur in the fall due to COVID-19 restrictions (even with reduced numbers), Ontario Nature will postpone the event until Spring 2023.
