Local youth can now put their power where their passion is through the Couchiching Conservancy's (CC) youth stewardship programs.
Patrick Jones, an environmental technician student at Georgian College, is volunteering through the program and has done work on three projects to date.
"I really like the environmental field. I want to get more into doing what it takes to help the environment," said the 24-year-old Orillia resident.
His first project with conservancy was, working with people between the ages 16 to 30, removing old cattle fencing from the Sweetwater Nature Reserve near Sebright. The former 75-hectare (185-acre) farm was fenced with woven and barbed wire.
"A lot of moose and white-tailed deer can't get past that area," said Jones. "Moose would try to jump and cut open their stomachs (leading to) all kinds of problems."
Alysha Henry, the conservancy's youth stewardship coordinator, said the youth program started last year with funding from the Angela Rehhorn Commemorative Project. The goal is to help youth overcome barriers to help the environment; namely a lack of transportation and lack of time.
"We want to see more youth get involved in the work we do," Henry said.
“Through the project, we are able to create workshops that are specifically designed to get young people involved. You don’t have to have any long-term commitment. Workshops are only a few hours. We also provide transportation to the location, all the materials they need and background education about the project beforehand,” Henry said.
Youth programs are an extension of community science projects, doing hands-on work and collecting data for CC's research.
The second project Jones took park in was pulling Dog strangling vine at Turnbull Ranch, close to Carden.
“Dog strangling vine is an invasive plant that climbs up all sorts of brush and trees and it covers the tree, blocking the light out and strangles the tree,” Jones said.
From Europe, the invasive plant is very hardy and hard to get rid of, Henry noted.
“We did resort to using some pesticide and it was effective for removing the dog strangling vine," Smith said.
The third project was called Wildlife on Roads. It focused on Monck Road in Ramara Township where it runs through a provincially significant wetland.
Volunteers found and photographed animals killed by vehicles along the 80 km/hour stretch of road, where many drivers speed, said Henry.
“We saw all sorts of wildlife that died such as raccoons, foxes, birds, frogs and salamanders,” said Jones.
Henry said there is a large culvert, but turtles are not using it because it's bare concrete, which is foreign to them. In addition, turtles are attracted to roadside gravel to lay their eggs.
Jones said he plans to continue volunteering for future youth projects.
“I want to get out there in the environment and help out. It’s something I really care about.”
There will be a winter Trail Cam and Tracks youth workshop, said Henry. The date is not yet scheduled.
Anyone interested in participating in the youth stewardship projects should contact Alysha Henry at [email protected].
