| Conservation
Tools |
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5.0 Informing and Educating for Conservation and
Restoration
Building a new vision for a healthier Carolinian landscape requires a
broad public consensus. The Big Picture vision is a long-term
vision for gradual restoration over several generations through voluntary
mechanisms. Education in the broadest sense is the major tool needed to
build that community consensus. Carolinian Canada hopes to encourage all
members of the community to increase their understanding of Carolinian
ecosystems and to participate directly in conservation and restoration
activities. Educational activities should target all groups including
rural landowners, urban residents, adults and children.
Educational and Technical Information for
Landowners
Providing educational materials and technical advice to landowners has
been a traditional approach to conservation, with a considerable record of
success. While many of these programs should continue in their present
form, others may need to be modified. One goal should be to reduce the
complexity of programs for landowners, since many find the number of
programs and organizations involved to be confusing, and this complexity
may prevent some landowners from accessing information.
Stewardship Councils, conservation authorities, and other
organizations could continue and renew private land stewardship programs.
Landowner contact programs, which deliver educational and stewardship
messages directly to private landowners, have been carried out for many of
the significant wetlands in Carolinian Canada, as well as for natural
areas along the Niagara Escarpment. Other landowner contact programs have
been carried out on a watershed basis, such as a long-running program in
the watersheds of Hamilton Harbour (now being expanded to other watersheds
in Hamilton-Halton), and a community-based approach to habitat
rehabilitation in the Rondeau Bay watershed. In recent years, some
landowner contact programs have been constrained by a lack of funding, and
continuity of contact has suffered as a result.
About half of the landowners within the 38 original Carolinian Canada
sites were contacted in the early 1990s, and over one-third of their total
area was enrolled under the Natural Heritage Stewardship Award program or
over 15,000 acres (Carolinian Canada, 1994). A renewed program to continue
contact with landowners and provide annual opportunities for learning was
proposed as part of the Conservation Strategy for Carolinian Canada (Reid
and Symmes, 1997).
A landowner contact program has recently been established for owners of
tallgrass prairie and savanna habitats, and MNR's Stewardship Councils and
some conservation authorities continue to work with owners of natural
areas as much as their resources permit. Some Stewardship Councils are
also actively involved in strategic planning for landscape conservation,
such as the Niagara Landcare program.
In general, however, private land stewardship is an area with
considerable untapped potential in implementing the Carolinian Canada Big
Picture strategy. Effective coordination among agencies of landowner
contact and stewardship programs is an ongoing need.
Farm Organization Programs
Improve conservation information and financial support in programs
of farm organizations.
Several excellent programs targeting the environmental practices of the
agricultural sector are already sponsored by farm organizations. A series
of Best Management Practices booklets, produced by the federal and
provincial governments and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, include
advice on farm forestry and habitat management, water management, and fish
and wildlife management. Opportunities could be sought to update these
booklets to include more recent information on the Big Picture
concept and rare species and habitats associated with Carolinian Canada.
 The Environmental Farm Plan program, created by the Ontario Farm
Environment Coalition and administered by the Ontario Soil and Crop
Improvement Association, encourages farmers to assess environmental issues
in their operations, including the health and management of natural areas.
During the 1993-2000 period, EFP uptake in the Carolinian Canada region
was somewhat less than the provincial average, at 22.8% of registered
farms compared to 30.5% province-wide. Oxford and Brant Counties were
particularly low, at about 10.7% (Ontario Farm Environment Coalition,
2000). The EFP program recognizes the need to incorporate new issues
including protection of species, reduction of greenhouse gases, carbon
sequestering, and regulation in support of stewardship. Enhancements in
response to these issues could offer opportunities for significant
progress. The EFP worksheets and info sheets on wildlife and habitat
issues could be revised to add new information related to Carolinian
species and ecosystems.
Long-term funding for the EFP program is also needed. Increasing
participation requires ongoing and consistent support. Federal and
provincial financial and in-kind support has helped get the program to
this point. A new government commitment would help get more farmers
participating and more complete implementation of action plans developed
as part of EFP. Opportunities may also exist to seek private foundation
funding for specific portions of the program.
Increased linkages of agricultural grants to completed Environmental
Farm Plans could act as strong incentives to encourage participation in
this program. Some local programs already do this (such as the Waterloo
program noted above). Some other provinces have also applied this concept,
such as Prince Edward Island's Agriculture and Environmental Resource
Conservation Program, which requires completion of an EFP before farmers
can qualify for 66% funding for such practices as riparian zone tree
planting or fencing (see website http://www.gov.pe.ca/af/aerc/index.php3
).
Awareness of Town & City Residents
Raise awareness of town and city residents of the need for
conservation and restoration of Carolinian ecosystems.
Many different approaches are needed to raise the general awareness of
people of towns and cities in Carolinian Canada to the need for and
benefits of conservation and restoration. School age, young people already
have greater awareness than adults. But teachers, working with the
curriculum, have a significant role to play. Carolinian Canada published
thousands of copies a tabloid and poster aimed at schools in 2000
publicizing the Big Picture and the need for action. Other
possible future projects could include producing a teacher's guide to
linking Carolinian ecology and the Big Picture to the new
curriculum.
Recent polling shows that most urban residents believe that trees and
woodlots are very important, both within the city and generally throughout
southern Ontario (Environics, 2001b). More than eight in ten people
expressed concern about the conditions of woodlots and forests in rural
areas, with human settlement and development seen as the greatest threats.
A majority of urban residents surveyed supported the passing of local
by-laws to restrict the cutting of trees, and agreed that rural landowners
should be compensated for taking land out of agriculture to grow more
trees.
Community-based restoration demonstration projects are excellent means
of raising awareness and getting volunteer involvement in towns and
cities. Conservation authorities, municipalities, environmental groups,
service clubs and many other organizations already undertake such work.
The Evergreen Foundation, with support from the federal government, has
excellent programs to support naturalization projects at home, school and
in public spaces. Permanent signs and other interpretive information for
these projects allow continuing awareness building.
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