Spring News

While we are counting birds at home, Rick and Kelly Stronks, who have led our bird counts for years, will survey our Marsh's Falls property to collect data on species that are breeding there.

Why we do bird counts
Long-term studies like annual bird counts are crucial to understanding how species and entire ecosystems respond to habitat loss, climate change and human alterations. Our annual bird counts contribute to this understanding in two main ways:

Data on which species use the Marsh's Falls property for breeding helps guide our protection strategies for these critical habitats.
We enter the bird count data into eBird, an online resource on bird distribution and abundance used by scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists.

So bird counts help us understand how these species use our properties while contributing data to the broader science community. This is citizen science at its best. And, perhaps most importantly – some of us are pretty obsessed with watching birds!

Marsh's Falls update

Walking Trails

Our 5km of groomed walking trails at Marsh’s Falls are beautiful at this time of year. This spring they are available for use by Foundation members and community residents by request. To schedule a walk, email registration@lakeofbaysheritage.ca with your desired date and the names and email addresses of your party. Brian Simpson, our property management director, will follow up with the details on trail access and use. Please remember that use of these trails is at your own risk, as the property is not a public facility. Kindly note that no dogs are allowed.

Thank you to Craig and Doris Macdonald for keeping our trails cleared and ready for use! They have just re-routed the trail around the steepest hill in the trail system, which was hazardous this winter when packed down and icy. The new route reduces the grade considerably, making it easier for all.

Events

The Foundation's Natural Heritage Committee has some exciting plans for our spring and summer nature events at Marsh’s Falls:

May 15 Dr. Cathy Charles Stay-at-home Bird Count. See details above

July 7 butterfly count, led by Rick and Kelly Stronks. Details soon.

August 28 mushroom count led by Mark McLean. Details soon.

Speaker Series - Patrick Boyer

On April 27, the Foundation presented the first event in its virtual speaker series. Distinguished author, lawyer and historian, J. Patrick Boyer, regaled our audience with an engaging presentation, drawing from his wide body of Muskoka research. Patrick covered a range of Lake of Bays events, characters, history of early colonial settlement and impact on indigenous communities. Over 50 members gathered for this fascinating afternoon of heritage discovery. Thank you Patrick!

For those who were unable to attend we are working on getting Patrick’s presentation on our website.

We hope to bring you another speaker in our series later in the spring.

Thank you to our volunteers and donors

The Foundation extends a very special thank you to our youngest recent volunteers, Vivian (age 12), Naveen (10), Vanessa (7) and Amelia (4). While visiting their grandparents, Craig and Doris Macdonald, before the covid lockdown, they devoted a day to clearing garbage from the ditches alongside highway 35 and our Marsh's Falls property. For Craig and Doris, this was a teaching moment on volunteering for social responsibility and conservation. Truly inspiring!

We appreciate the many recent donations to the Langmaid’s Protection Fund and the LBHF General Fund, and extend a welcome and thank you to new Life Member Gundy Upand and new Protectors Andy and Valerie Pringle and the RBC West Acheson Group.

Pioneer Memorial United Church heritage plaque

One of the very early initiatives of the Foundation was the recognition of heritage buildings by bestowing upon a building’s owners a plaque to be mounted on the building. The very first plaques were awarded in the early ’Nineties, and among the first buildings to be so recognized was Pioneer Memorial United Church, at Hillside, on Highway 60 between Huntsville and Dwight.

In those days we had our plaques made of a form of Perspex. Beautiful as it was at the time it was installed, the plaque on the church deteriorated with exposure to the weather. The Board has been conscious of the need to rectify this situation and a chance meeting between Simon Miles and church officials at the church’s annual strawberry festival led to an agreement to recognize the church in 2017. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of its construction in 1892, Gloria Woodside, a Foundation Board member, presented a new bronze plaque to the congregation. The current plaque, like those seen to grace many heritage buildings around the lake, should last for centuries. The late Chris Yaneff, a former member of the Board of the Foundation and a famous designer of corporate logos, had kindly had his company produce the beautiful design.

The installation of the plaque by the Foundation does not bestow any protection from demolition, nor does it constrain the church authorities from making upgrades to the church building. It is simply a way of recognizing the value of the building as part of our local heritage.

In mid-March, after hiking in the Peninsula Lake area, the Huntsville Probus walking group met at the Church. Gloria, a member of the group, took the opportunity to introduce her fellow hikers to the plaque and the work of the Foundation in recognizing heritage buildings. See photo above.

The Foundation has awarded over 65 heritage plaques in the Lake of Bays area.