Are you a high school student with a passion for nature, desire to learn more about the environment, want to meet like-minded friends?

Ontario Nature is holding their 2013 Youth Summit for Biodiversity and Green Solutions from September 20 -22nd at YMCA Geneva Park, Orillia, ON

The Youth Summit will feature numerous workshops and hands-on activities to help students become environmental leaders in their community.  Topics include sustainability, green technology, bird banding, Ontario’s species at risk and MORE!  The venue is Lake Couchiching with nightly campfires, canoeing and nature walks.  See further details at www.ontarionature.org/youthsummit OR email the co-ordinator, Sarah Hedges at sarahh@ontarionature.org.

How to Apply for Sponsorship?           Deadline is Friday June 28, 2013.

Please email to smithfam@nexicom.net an outline of your experience and interest in nature and why you would like to attend the Youth Summit weekend.  Also, would you be willing to share your Youth Summit experience and what you learned, at a Peterborough Field Naturalist Club meeting?

We look forward to hearing from you!

What do you think of the need for a road and the comparative evaluations? What more information can you provide? What questions do you have or what more information do you need? Are there other alternatives or routes you might suggest?

Please send your comments by April 19 to the City of Peterborough at ParkwayCorridorEA@peterborough.ca and/or the consultant at kevin.jones@aecom.com

Please also copy your comments to: ​

​friendsofjacksonpark@gmail.com
​and/or  info@peterboroughnature.org

For more information on the Parkway Corridor Class EA, please see:

​City’s website with information on the Parkway EA:
​http://www.peterborough.ca/Business/Studies/Parkway_Corridor_EA.htm

City’s background information at the Public Information Centre #2 on March 21, 2013 (choose the full set or the separate displays):
PDF document from www.peterborough.ca/Assets/City+Assets/Engineering

​City’s 2012 Comprehensive Transportation Plan Report:
PDF document from http://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/City+Assets/Transportation

​Contact for information from the Friends of Jackson Park:
​friendsofjacksonpark@gmail.com

​Website of the Peterborough Field Naturalists:
​http://peterboroughnature.org/

​Website of the Friends of Peterborough Trails:
​http://friendsofpeterboroughtrails.ca/

Sunday, May 5th, 2013, 3:00PM

A quiet walk in which we will use all of our senses to explore the moment in Jackson Park, as well as how our personal experiences are influenced by the experiences of those around us.

Life’s busy, and we often forget to take time to pay attention to what’s going on around us. Join us on a relaxed and quiet walk that will focus on slowing down and really listening, seeing, smelling, feeling, and perhaps even tasting, as much as our time in Jackson Park has to offer. We will also explore how our personal experiences are influenced by the experiences of those around us.

Leader

Andrew Jobes

Meeting location

Pagoda Bridge, Jackson Park

Join us for a Sunday Morning Bird Walk around Beavermead Park. This popular camping location surrounded by Little Lake and Meade Creek is home not just to tents and trailers – it is a haven for local bird and wildlife species.

With the help of local naturalists, come and discover the wild side of Beavermead Park. Meet at the Chip Truck within the Beavermead parking lot at the corner of Ashburnham and Marsdale Roads.

Saturday, May 4th, 2013, 2:00PM

The Parkway Trail is one of Peterborough’s premier natural areas, serving as a wildlife corridor across the city. It is also a beautiful place to walk, bike and discover near-by nature. However, it may very well end up becoming a two-lane arterial road to improve north-south traffic flow across Peterborough. What is the value of green, urban corridors and should road development go ahead?

We will enjoy a 4 km walk along the most beautiful and biologically-rich section of the Parkway Trail and learn about its flora and fauna, history and present-day recreational use. The Parkway Trail is controversial because of the very real possibility that it may become an arterial road.

We will walk the Parkway Trail, starting behind Northminster United Church and continuing to just south of Cumberland Ave – a total of 2 kms up the trail and 2 kms back.

Start / Stop Location

Northminster United Church, 300 Sunset Blvd (meet in parking lot behind the church)

Accessibility

The entire route is paved. We will, however, have to cross a 25 metre grassy area to get to the trail.

Leader

Drew Monkman

Bio

Drew Monkman is a local naturalist and nature writer who has had a special interest in the future of the Parkway Trail and corridor for many years. He writes a weekly nature and environment column in the Peterborough Examiner and is the author of two books. His most recent book, “Nature’s Year in Central and Eastern Ontario” describes the main events in our flora and fauna each month of the year. A retired teacher, Drew used to take his students on regular outings along the Parkway Trail as part of his science and physical education program.

Sunday, May 5th, 2013, 1:00PM

Before the canal system tamed the rapids of the Otonabee River, its less tumultuous tributary, Jackson Creek, drove the paddle wheels that powered the mills of the growing town of Peterborough. Still flowing through the heart of the City, Jackson Creek now glides quietly under parking garages and buildings. Even when it does emerge to daylight, it is still largely invisible, a silent backdrop to the commerce and bustle of urban life.

Starting at the Trans Canada Trail, at the corner of Brock Street and Bethune, we will go with the flow, exploring the creek within the city.  We will look at how, and why Jackson Creek is constrained by walls engineered to keep its banks in check, at efforts to restore its shores to a more natural state, all the while looking for, and discussing, the potential to reconnect the residents of a city built by water, to its own stream. The tour will follow paved pathways and city sidewalks (possibly travelling through some gravel parking lots), ending on the path behind Tribal Voices and Stickling’s Bakery, just south of Charlotte St.

Little brook – laugh and leap!

Do not let the dreamer weep:

Sing him all the songs of summer till he sink in softest sleep;

And then sing soft and low

Through his dreams of long ago –

Sing back to him the rest he used to know!

– James Whitcomb Riley

Leaders

Kim Zippel & Gina Varrin

Meeting Location

TransCanada Trail on the NW corner of Brock and Bethune

We’ll have a leisurely walk around the South Drumlin, one of Trent University’s Nature Areas. We’ll talk about the historical land uses in the area and how the land is used today. You may be surprised to learn that the lumber mills once operating nearby were among the largest in Ontario. After the walk you should also have an understanding of what a drumlin is and why and why this landform is characteristic of the Peterborough area. We’ll observe the contrast in the vegetation below the drumlin, which has been completely modified by humans, and the relatively undisturbed sugar maple – American beech woodland on top of the drumlin. Weather permitting, there will likely be a nice show of spring wild flowers and the songs of migrating birds. We’ll talk about the special value of such remnant natural areas and ways that you can speak up for them.

Accessibility

We will be walking on a trail with some rough sections and moderate inclines on the slope of the drumlin. The walk will take about 1.5 hr and the distance is approximately 2 km.

Leaders

Mike McMurtry and Roger Jones

Location

South Drumlin Area, Trent University

Start/Stop Location

We will meet at the parking lot next to “The Cabin” at the corner of Nassau Mills and Armour Roads.

ORCA —  Otonabee Region Conservation Authority

Saturday, May 4th, 10:00AM

Join us to explore the natural and cultural history of Beavermead Park, Little Lake and Meade Creek. Stops along the route will interpret changes that have occurred during the area’s transformation from its industrial past to its current recreational focus. Did you know that Roger’s Cove was once a marble factory?

Meeting at the Chip Truck by the entrance to Beavermead Park on Ashburnham, we will walk to Ecology Park, then north through Beavermead Park to Lock 20 and back along a fully accessible paved path. Walkers of all ages are welcome to join us as we discuss the natural heritage, recreational and industrial highlights along this route. Our stops will include information about naturalized shorelines, local flora and fauna, and recreational opportunities in the area.

Leaders

Otonabee Region Conservation Authority
Meredith Carter, Manager, Environmental and Technical Services
Erin McGauley, Watershed Biologist

Meeting Location

Chip Truck by Entrance to Beavermead Park and Campground on Ashburnham