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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-14 Minutes I - 1 Draft minutes - Not yet approved by Committee NOTES OF MEETING OF SAMUEL WILMOT NATURE AREA MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELD ON TUESDAY APRIL 14, 2009 AT 7:00 P.M. Present: David Best Arthur Burrows (V oting) Jim Cleland Shirley Minifie Karin Murphy Dan Stanoi Brian Reid Also Present: Peter Windolf Dianne Graham (Non- Voting) Regrets: John Stoner Kerry Meydam Joe McKenna Councillor Willie Woo Absent: Warren May (MNR) Greg Wells (GRCA) 1. Agenda Additions There were no additions to the agenda. Acceptance of Agenda MOVED by David Best, seconded by Shirley Minifie THA T the agenda for March 10, 2009 be accepted. CARRIED 2. Minutes of March 10, 2009 Corrections Grant for Project Application through OPG was to be added from March 10th meeting Approval of Minutes MOVED by Brian Reid, seconded by Arthur Burrows THAT the minutes of February, 2009 be approved. CARRIED 3. Issues arising from the Minutes There were no issues arising from the minutes. 4. Sub-Committee Reports Maintenance Weeds are growing through the asphalt trail at the north side of the Water Treatment Plant. Jim attempted to remove them but the roots remain below the asphalt. The trails on Cobbledick Road and Toronto Street are extremely muddy this spring; they may require fresh limestone in the near future. The trails will be inspected at the May site meeting. All 23 Birdhouses have been cleaned and re-installed, not all the birdhouses were mounted on T-bars because some of them are missing on the Cobbledick Road side. The garbage cans are overflowing at both at Cobbledick Road and Toronto Street parking lots. When fishing season opens in April there is a need for more than one receptacle in both parking lots at the SWNA. A suggestion was made for two cans to be placed at these locations plus an additional one at the entrance by the waterfront trail on Toronto Street. The garbage can that was painted with the SWNA logo has gone missing. Operations Department will be advised of these issues. 5. Updates Indian River Reptile Zoo Presentation The scheduled date for the Indian River Reptile Zoo Presentation is June 6th @ 10:00am at the Toronto Street parking lot. The exhibit would feature live native and exotic reptiles and snakes. This was one of the most popular special events of previous years. Notices of the event will be posted at the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area and mailed out the SWNA contacts list. A few picnic tables will be requested from Operations. Arrangements will De made to have the Clarington tent available in case of rain. The committee discussed planting trees on the same day of the Indian River Reptile Zoo Presentallon. About 2u trees and shrubs will be ordered for June () usmg the funding from the 2008 GRCA Clean Water Healthy Land grant. Ducks Unlimited Site Visit David met on site with Tracey Logan from DU's Peterborough office to find out more about the organization and whether they are interested in any wildlife enhancement projects at the SWNA. They are not interested at this time but will look provide us a list of other organizations who might be interested. DFN Songbird Presentation Brian, Karin and Shirley attended the March 30 Durham Field Naturalist presentation about the decline of songbirds and their migration patterns. The presentation was very informative and highlighted the destruction of songbird habitat occurring in South and Central America. Their decline does not appear to be related to any loss of habitat or shortage of food in North America. Brian will be presenting the SWNA PowerPoint presentation at the April 27th DFN meeting. At that meeting he will discuss assistance from the DFN for a possible event themed around different types of birds and their habitant. PowerPoint Presentations The PowerPoint presentation for the Wilmot Community Auxiliary Committee is scheduled for Tuesday May 1 i\ 2009; Introduction begins at 11 :OOAM. Karin and Shirley will do the presentation. A Laptop and projector have been booked for this event. On Thursday April 23rd @ 2pm in Room 3C (3rd Floor) members who are interested in delivering the presentation will be shown the basics of how to set up and run a PowerPoint presentation. Portable Washroom The committee again discussed the need for a port-a-potty at the SWNA. Councillor Woo has had preliminary discussions with the Operations Department about the need for one at the SWNA. Operations is concerned that installing one at the SWNA will lead to requests at other trail locations. The committee insisted that the SWNA should be considered differently from those other trails because it is much larger, more remote from residential, and is generally a "drive to" location. The other areas also do not have the same educational/interpretive interest for school groups nor do they have public events as often. Shirley passed around information about The Friends of the Frink Centre-Green Latrine project. This was a project to build a "green" washroom building at the Frink Wildlife centre north of Kingston. Constructed in 2006 it consisted of a straw bale building with compo sting toilets and sinks. Shirley described the process of fundraising and constructing the building. The Frink Centre also has a classroom building and attracts many school groups for environmental education programs. It was agreed that a washroom building similar to the Frink Centre Green Latrine would be much larger than what is needed at the SWNA. Further investigation into other toilet options and possible funding sources will be required to determine a more suitable type of facility for the SWNA. Trail Markers The SWNA trail markers are ready to be posted around the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area. Brian was given the entire package of trail markers and he will anange for their installation with other SWNA members. DEAC-Environmental Achievement Awards Reception The SWNA has been nominated for the Irene Kock-EducationlCommunication Award. The awards reception will be held on May 14th @ 6:30PM at the Regional Headquarters. Jim and Karin have agreed to attend the event. 6. Other Business/Next Meeting Pine Bark Beetle There was a brief discussion about the Pine Bark beetle. Peter responded that we have a many types of pine beetle in Ontario but not the same species (Mountain Pine Beetle) that is devastating the pine forests in western Canada. "Pitch In" Day-Saturday April2Sth, 2009 - 9am - 12 noon David, Karin, Brian, Dan have volunteered to attend the Pitch In event at the SWNA. The meeting place is at Toronto Street parking lot at 9:00am. Operations will provide bags and gloves on the day of the event. OPG Green Grants At the next meeting Joe will ask talk reiterate what he knows about green grant opportunities form OPG. Adjournment: 8:30 P.M. Next Meeting: Tuesday May 12, 2009 6:00 p.m. On Site Meet at Toronto Street Parking Lot Notes prepared by D. Graham