RESTORE COOTES

Having visitors from out of province, never mind bright young engaged members of the national Engineers Without Borders (EWB) group, was a real treat and a great way to show-off the changes at McMaster's parking lot "M". No Parking! The 30m buffer displaced car parking to protect Ancaster Creek The EWB crew arrived by city bus at McMaster and were met by Reyna Matties (McMaster biology) and Randy Kay (Restore Cootes/ OPIRG McMaster ). Hamilton is playing host this weekend to an annual national EWB conference, and the tour of Lot M was one of the field trip options. Reyna and I were very happy with the turnout! Reyna (centre) explains the biology of the riparian zone at Ancaster Creek The group had about an hour, so we did a truncated version of our usual tour. It was cold but we ended up spending the entire time outside, resulting in a few cold toes by the end. We walked the length of "Maria's Walk", the last mostly-intact trail from the Ro...

Snapping Turtle. Photo courtesy April Severin  http://www.   aprilseverin.com It's rarely heard, and not by people over 40 years-old, and usually with special equipment underwater, and out of their natural habitat it stops: Turtles do vocalize and we think it's pretty sweet. (see link to article below) But we wonder about the conditions for the turtles of Cootes, swimming in a noisy environment filled with the sounds of traffic. If anyone knows more about turtles communicating, feel free to pipe-up in the comments! LINKS: http://www.newsweek.com/turtles-talk-each-other-parents-call-out-offspring-265613 http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/FerraraCR_2013_JCompPsychol.pdf

Some tremendously good news - any expansion of protected habitat is welcomed, and this is a fairly significant addition to the Cootes to Escarpment Eco Park. Read the release about the land purchase to create an intact wildlife corridor connecting Cootes Paradise to the Niagara Escarpment here . From the release: The land, in Dundas’ Pleasant View (York and Valley Roads and York and Old Guelph Roads), falls within one of Canada’s biodiversity hotspots.  It is home to more than 1,500 species of plants and animals, including nearly one- quarter of Canada’s wild plants and more than 50 at-risk species.  It provides the last intact ecological connection between Lake Ontario wetlands and the Niagara escarpment.   Later generations may take such protected areas for granted, but it is certainly exciting to see the pieces fall in to place during our lifetime. This is a big project (evidenced by the cooperation from some large institutions) and speaks well of their colle...

Guest blogger: Reyna Matties  Urbanization displaces and degrades ecosystems that are critical for humans, animals, and plants. Sustainable urban development has become a priority in the challenge to re-design our ageing infrastructure. Working to coexist peacefully with the surrounding environment will increase sustainability. As a graduate student of Biology at McMaster University, I am studying the applied ecology and hydrology of a parking lot system (Lot M). Ancaster Creek, a rare cold-water ecosystem, runs along Lot M and is part of an essential wildlife corridor for native species such as salmon, turtle, and deer. Together with Dr. Susan Dudley, I am working to retrofit the stormwater management of the system to minimize the impact of contaminants and runoff into the creek. One method of achieving this goal is through increasing and restoring the land next to the creek. This is called a riparian buffer, which protects the system by providing habitat for animals, incre...

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 .