CVC commences a Natural Areas Inventory

On hand at the announcement of the Natural Areas Inventory were (l to r) CVC CAO Rae Horst; Audrey Oswald, South Peel Naturalists' Club; OTF representative Carlyle Khan; Bob Delaney, MPP for Mississauga West; Vic Dhillon, MPP for Brampton West- Mississauga; and Kelly Bowen from Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club.

Credit Valley Conservation announced the commencement of the Natural Areas Inventory recently thanks to a $197,700 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Vic Dhillon, MPP for Brampton West- Mississauga, Bob Delaney, MPP for Mississauga West, and OTF representative Carlyle Khan joined CVC chief administrative officer Rae Horst, Kelly Bowen from Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club and Audrey Oswald from the South Peel Naturalists' Club to celebrate this great news.

"Given climate change and the tremendous development pressures in the Credit River Watershed and Region of Peel will be facing over the next several years, it is important, in maintaining a healthy environment for all, that the existence of natural areas be known and their functions understood," Dhillon said.

"Not that long ago, the Credit River and the land around it was truly wilderness," Delaney said. "Now that the cities that grew on its banks are denser and more urbanized, our shared responsibility is to ensure we preserve the Credit River watershed. This OTF grant will fund a study to help us better understand what exactly needs protection and what steps we can take in the years ahead to preserve the watershed."

Over the next four years, the project will be conducting inventories of species and biological communities in key areas throughout the Credit River Watershed and Region of Peel. The project will identify significant natural heritage features and functions, provide the general public, nongovernmental organizations and government agencies with a better understanding of the environment in the study area, and support public education, stewardship and protection initiatives and sound ecosystem management, ensuring long-term community health. Residents of the study area will have opportunities to enhance their knowledge and appreciation of the natural environment via guided walks, a Web site, workshops as well as community and school class events.

Credit Valley Conservation, the Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club and the South Peel Naturalists' Club are partners in the NAI.

"We share the common goals of promoting enjoyment of nature and the environment, of working toward the protection of natural areas and encouraging wise, responsible management of natural heritage resources," Horst said.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. For 25 years, it has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. OTF continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community-based initiatives. For more information, please visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.

Conservation authorities are a provincial/ municipal partnership. CVC was established by an act of the province in 1954 with a mandate to protect all natural resources other than minerals in the area drained by the Credit River. CVC has been working for more than 50 years with its partner municipalities and stakeholders to protect and enhance the natural environment of the Credit River Watershed for current and future generations.