RESTORE COOTES

Just found this on the ole Youtube. This was a great day, but also the day we found that a very very thin layer of soil sat atop a very very hard substrata of the former parking lot. Restore Cootes was responsible for bringing these groups together and the results are a living legacy. Go take a look for yourself! Thank you all involved in making this happen.

Poster by Reyna Matties Go back in time to when Parking Lot M was Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary, see the ghosts from the past and see the future as nature comes back as the asphalt retreats. Event informatino: https://goo.gl/vtK8vT

Join your guides Reyna Matties (McMaster biology) and Randy Kay (Restore Cootes) for a lunch time jaunt into the past, present and future of McMaster's Lot M Parking. This former floodplain was a Royal Botanical Garden Nature Sanctuary until purchased by McMaster in 1963 for a massive parking lot. But in 2014 some big changes started to improve the natural environment. Come see what's happening now. Wednesday, November 4, 2015 Meet at the OPIRG McMaster Resource Centre, McMaster University Student Centre Room 229  12:30pm departure, hike lasts approximately one hour, you can stay for all our leave early Sign up at the Facebook page for the hike .

Pollinators Great & Small: Making the Community a Pollinator Haven: Dr. Peter Kevan & Dr. Vernon Thomas, Saturday Aug 29, 11am The Urquhart Butterfly Garden is excited to announce a free workshop held in the Garden, “Pollinators Great & Small: Making the Community a Pollinator Haven” led by pollinator and pollination biology experts Dr. Peter Kevan and Dr. Vernon Thomas. The workshop will take place on Saturday August 29 at 11am. Peter Kevan and Vernon Thomas, accomplished professors from the University of Guelph, will share valuable information about the essential work of pollinators. They will discuss the numerous types of pollinators, their contribution to agriculture, the threats they face, and more. Learn why it is important for the whole community to be committed to pollinator projects, and find out what an individual can do, without even owning a window box! The garden is bustling with pollinators, flyin...

RBG working with Hydro One on turning Cootes parking lot into turtle nesting area Hamilton Spectator  By Craig Campbell Working with land owner Hydro One, the Royal Botanical Gardens has created a management plan that will turn an informal Cootes Paradise parking lot into a meadow and turtle nesting area. There is no plan to reopen public access through Hydro One's Olympic Drive property to the Desjardins Canal and an unofficial trail. "The authorized water access for Cootes Paradise is Princess Point," said Tys Theysmeyer, RBG director of lands. He said access through the private property became "totally abused" with, among other issues, illegal dumping, overnight tractor trailer parking and vehicles destroying grass areas. Hydro One and the Royal Botanical Gardens have agreed on a plan to manage the location. "Much of the gravel will be removed and the area turned into a meadow," he said. "Some of the gravel will be used to build...

Urquhart Butterfly Garden,                                  Centennial Park, Dundas Ontario Dragonflies and Their Kin: Masters of Air and Water: Brenda Van Ryswyk Saturday, Aug 15, 11:00am The Urquhart Butterfly Garden is hosting a free workshop by Dragonfly and Damselfly expert Brenda Van Ryswyk. “ Dragonflies & Their Kin: Masters of Air & Water ” will take place on Saturday August 15 at 11am. Dragonflies and Damselflies are exciting to watch, with their extraordinary displays of speed and agility in the air. However, don't be deceived by their beauty, because they are also very powerful hunters and gobble up scores of smaller insects as they zip through the air.   Brenda Van Ryswyk is known for her ability to spot and identify dragonflies. She is also an excellent teacher and holds workshops across Ontario.  The workshop is suitable for young and old, and e...

It's not like they have a chance, being short, slow and focused on laying their eggs in sandy soil. Not when there's a 4 lane, 80 km/h divided highway cutting through the place where they live. At 80 or 90km/h will you have time to notice the turtle, then take evasive action? Will the person in the car behind you have time?  We need to do more to protect turtles and other at risk species from getting totally wiped out in our corner of the world. More on this subject to come.