Species At Risk Youth Camp   SAR Camp 2009: Youth Help Species At Risk 2nd Annual Species at Risk Camp a Success! July 22nd-23rd, Norfolk County 2009 Photos here This year’s Species at Risk (SAR) Camp provided Ontario Stewardship Rangers with a meaningful learning experience. While many students know that animals like the Panda Bear and Right Whale are endangered, most are unaware of locally rare species and what they can do to help. The Coalition’s 2nd annual camp gave rangers an interactive introduction to the stewardship of Southwestern Ontario’s unique diversity. Over two days, the teens toured an ecologically friendly farm, met face-to-face with rare snakes and worked in teams to remove invasive plants. Stewardship rangers are summer students who work for stewardship councils and First Nations groups. For many of them, this is their first job. Throughout the season, the teens carry out much-needed conservation work for landowners. Our camp allowed local rangers a chance to immerse themselves in Carolinian species and stewardship issues. Crews in attendance included the Chippewas of the Thames, Middlesex-Lambton, Waterloo-Wellington, Oxford Elgin, Walpole Island, Brant-Hamilton, Chatham and Aurora. Live demonstrations featuring snakes and raptors received rave reviews. No-one was squeamish when it came to handling the reptiles. In fact, holding the snakes brought smiles to everyone’s faces. In addition, Nauvoo, the Raptor Conservancy’s 8-week old Barn Owl chick, inspired love at first sight. Through the interactive sessions, rangers met also met conservation professionals, discussed issues and found creative ways to share their experiences. For example, some teams presented humourous skits, reenacting how to search for rare orchids or providing tips on how to prevent persecution of reptiles. Aylmer Team Lead, Darren Bonenberg, noted that the rangers “had a wonderful time because they remarked about their experiences for a couple of days after camp completion.” Two other Team Leads, Beth Anne Fischer (Waterloo Wellington) and Danielle Aulenback (Chippewas of the Thames) have volunteered to write articles for CCC about their experiences working within the Carolinian Life Zone with the rangers. The camp is part of the Coalition's "Greening the Future for Species at Risk" program to inspire, inform and guide communities towards habitat recovery in harmony with working landscapes. Assistance for this project is provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Parks Canada, TD Canada Trust’s Friends of the Environment Foundation and Ontario Stewardship Councils.   To view photos of the 2008 camp, click here. Download the Media Release here. Read an article published in the Simcoe Reformer here. Read an account of Danielle Aulenback's experience working with the Chippewa crew here. Information about SAR Camp 2008 can be found here.

The following are photographs from this two day event. Click on the thumbnail to view the image larger.

photo credits: Bronwen Buck

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Young Conservationists Focus on Species at Risk
By Ashley House, Simcoe Reformer

Forget iPods and Xboxes.

This summer, up and coming conservationists have traded them in for binoculars and GPS systems in an effort to secure a future for species at risk.
Over the last two days, stewardship rangers from across Ontario have gathered at the Long Point Waterfowl camp north of Turkey Point for a special species at risk camp hosted by the Carolinian Canada Coalition. The 17-year-olds have been working in teams throughout Ontario, helping their local communities with various environmental projects.

There are 39 teams across the province helping public and private landowners with a range of conservation work. The Carolinian Canada Coalition gathered five of these teams together to get a hands-on look at species in the Carolinian forest.

"We want to educate students on what's going on in our own backyard," said Bronwen Buck, ecosystem recovery network co-ordinator with the Carolinian Canada Coalition. "The goal is to get them to articulate the importance of helping species at risk."

The Carolinian forest, which stretches from Toronto to Windsor, has one of the highest concentrations of species at risk. "I've learned a lot," said Erin McCorkle of Aylmer. "It's been a great experience." She's working with the Elgin Oxford Stewardship Team. "I considered myself outdoorsy, but this is way more outdoors than I'm used to," McCorkle said. She was surprised to learn how many species are at risk in her own backyard. Her group has been working on stream rehabilitation in Port Stanley so it can become a better trout habitat.

"The hummingbird banding was also really fun," McCorkle said. Rangers came face-to-face with species like the hog-nose snake and were taught why their populations are disappearing. They met barn owls and other birds of prey up close. They tagged trees in the Spooky Hollow Nature Sanctuary. "They just came back from a volunteer job in a nearby forest where they were helping save species at risk," Buck said. "We were removing invasive species that were choking them out." Species they were saving included flowering dogwoods and the American chestnut tree.

To end the two-day festivities, the teams presented field reports to the rest of the group, highlighting the work they've done over the last four weeks. Their field reports highlighted turtle monitoring, stream rehabilitation and restoring snake habitats. Besides creating awareness about species at risk, the Ontario Stewardship Ranger program helps budding biologists and wildlife conservationists get a leg up in their potential career paths.

"Seventeen is a good age because it's helping them meet people in the field who they can network with and get advice from," Buck said.

Ashley House
519-426-3528 ext.112
(Article reprinted with permission of the Simcoe Reformer)

Photo: Ashley House, Simcoe Reformer
The Elgin Oxford Ontario Stewardship Team, which has been doing stream rehabilitation in Port Stanley, visited the Long Point Waterfowl camp in Turkey Point for a special species at risk camp hosted by the Carolinian Conservation Coalition. Left to right: Andrew Robinson, Tynan Larson-Caldwell, Erin McCorkle and team lead Matt Wright.

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Youth Stewardship Program Sparks Interest in Species at Risk
By Danielle Aulenback

This past summer I had the unique opportunity to participate in the Ontario Stewardship Ranger (OSR) program as the Chippewas of the Thames Crew Lead. This is the second year in a row the Chippewas of the Thames have collaborated with the Ministry of Natural Resources. Together they have extended the OSR program to the Chippewas youth, in order to promote interest in the environmental field. As they did in 2008, the Carolinian Canada Coalition (CCC) provided an external source of funding for my position as well.

When the field season began, I was both excited and nervous about what the summer would bring. I wanted to be successful in my position as Crew Lead by providing my team members with great working opportunities and learning experiences. Since all crew members were as equally new to the program as I, I challenged myself to establish a dynamic summer work experience that could include educational and field components in a tight schedule.

Throughout the course of the summer, I was able to introduce my team to a diversity of activities. We were able to work with various conservation groups on projects ranging from trail maintenance to species at risk research. One of our most successful projects was in partnership with Friends of the Coves in London, Ontario, where we naturalized an area with indigenous wet meadow species. Since my crew was able to participate in this project from beginning to end, they benefited by being able to continually observe the progress of their work over time.

The Chippewas of the Thames band office provided a rather unique opportunity to learn about the bird populations and ecosystems of the area. As part of their first Hummingbird Banding project, the rangers were able to learn from certified humming bird banders. Our crew, along with the Oxford/Elgin and Middlesex/Lambton crews, were able to see how to catch and band Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. By monitoring these delicate creatures over time, the Chippewas hope to learn more about hummingbird ecology, including whether the location is a spring or fall migration route, and what percentage of birds return to the same nesting location.

Other highlights of the summer involved working with various populations of species at risk. We participated in “musseling” (mussel monitoring) in the Sydenham River, carried out reptile surveys on Walpole Island and even rehabilitated nesting sites for the Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle. The rangers expressed much surprise upon finding out how many species at risk existed in the area, and were consequently pleased to work on associated projects.

Sciensational Snakes, an organization that provides the public with hands-on education about conservation, presented the rangers with a workshop on native reptiles and amphibians. By end of the day, the rangers learned how to locate and handle wild snakes and turtles. The best discovery that day was a pair of Fox Snakes, one of which was a pregnant female. Needless to say, the ranger crew’s favourite activity throughout the summer involved reptile surveying.

The summer also included many additional educational opportunities. We participated in a species at risk-themed camp, which was hosted by the Carolinian Canada Coalition. Although it was a rainy couple of days, my crew enjoyed the daily activities and opportunity to bond with other crew members. They also really enjoyed the free time at the camp. It was especially nice for me to be able to talk with other Crew Leads, to find out what kind of projects all the other crews were working on.

Sir Sanford Fleming College of Natural Resources kindly invited us for a tour and camping experience at their facilities. Here, the rangers explored some of the education opportunities available in the environmental field. This was another highlight of the summer, since students had a choice of activities which gave an overview of some of the classes offered. The rangers specifically enjoyed the drilling and blasting demonstration as well as the stream sampling and assessment session.

I feel I provided the rangers with a wide variety of activities throughout the summer. The rangers responded better to projects that allowed them to observe the overall outcome of their efforts. They also appreciated any experiences that allowed them hands-on work with species at risk. When activities consisted of more labour related work, such as nursery maintenance, it was often hard to motivate them throughout the day. Overall, it was a great learning experience for the rangers and myself. Through the process, I gained a great set communication and motivational skills; should I have the opportunity to be a leader again, I will be even more successful in the position.

It turns out my initial worries as a novice Crew Lead were unfounded. Over the course of our time together, I observed the rangers enjoy the summer as much as I. I feel I sparked their interest in pursuing a conservation-related career. When one of my rangers asked, on the last day, to return the program next summer, I knew I had a positive impact. I felt especially rewarded when the same ranger said she was considering studying sciences when she was finished high school. I knew then that I was successful in my summer position.

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