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Home My WebLink About2026-03-17 Samuel Wilmot Nature Area Management Advisory Committee Minutes March 17, 2026, 7:00 p.m. Room 1c Municipal Administrative Center or Microsoft Teams Present: Y/N Person Y/N Person Y Brian Reid (Chair) Y Leanne Fernandes Y Carmen Aiello Y Tom Hossie (Vice Chair) Y Councillor Margaret Zwart (Council Liaison) Y Rod McArthur N Kate Potter Y Meg Vandenbrink Y Ken Mercer (Staff) Y Kayla Stephens Y Leah Bourgeois Y Michael Henderson Y Doug Rapley Also Present: N/A 1. Call to Order Brian Reid called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. 2. Land Acknowledgement Statement Brian Reid led the meeting with the Land Acknowledgement Statement. 3. Additions to the Agenda/Adoption of the Agenda Moved by Meg Vandenbrink, seconded by Rod McArthur that the agenda be accepted with the addition of welcome & introduction of our two new members Michael & Doug. Carried 4. Declaration of Pecuniary Interest There were no disclosures of interest stated at this meeting. 5. Adoption of Minutes Moved by Meg Vandenbrink, seconded by Rod McArthur that the minutes of the SWNAMAC - 2 - March 17, 2026 meeting of February 17, 2026, be approved. Carried 6. Committee Administration 7. SWNA Workplan Q1 2026 a. Photo Contest • Kayla will notify the committee when the photos have been displayed Q2 2026 a. Monarch Presentation – Tom Hossie • Ethan (student of Tom’s) - Tom mentioned that Ethan is in his final stages of completing his thesis and will be presenting in April. Tom will confirm a date with Ethan that he can give a 10–15-minute presentation to the committee. b. Earth Week Cleanup (April 18, 2026) − Posters are displayed and have been circulated on Facebook pages. − SWNA Committee will meet at 10am at Toronto Street parking lot. − It was noted by Rod that Bond Head does its clean up the same day and time, Sara is the contact for that group. Meg will send the flyer that Sara circulated. − Brian will coordinate things at the SWNA lot and has gloves and garbage bags that he will bring for our group to use. − Ken is going to look into getting a final tally for the weight of garbage collected. c. Spring Perennial Planting (May 30, 2026) • Brian confirmed that OPG is donating $2,500 and Brian has connected with Martin who provides the plants which will be delivered on May 30’26. • Planting will be in the same area as last year. We will be filling in the area and expanding the area slightly to the west. • Brian will be submitting an application this week to the Canadian Wildlife Federation for funding of a major seeding project in the same area. This will be in the Fall as the second phase. Ken has lined up a contractor to do the tilling and seeding • Leah will update the poster and circulate to the group for review. d. Bird Box Cleanup SWNAMAC - 3 - March 17, 2026 • Rod, Carmen & Brian will continue as in previous years to clean up the bird boxes. • Brian will connect with those who are interested in participating in the cleanup. • Kayla indicated she is interested in joining. • Rod asked if there is any way to get 10 new bird boxes. Leah mentioned she has two but will check and get back to the group. Leah will also add this for next year's session to build more boxes. OPG changed the timing of the sessions to Fall so it won’t work for this year. Q3 2026 a. Moth Week (June/July) – Tom - Tom mentioned that he is not available the International Moth Week, but this can be done either in June or July. Tom will advise on a date so Kate can add it to the calendar. b. Monarch Tagging (September 12; back up date September 19) – Tom - Leah mentioned that if the weather forces the date of September 19th, then she will not be available and she noted that OPG tents and button machine will not be available either as there is already a function scheduled for OPG that day. - Leah and Meg will work together and talk to Ben about having the Salmon event the same day but again Leah noted that Ben and herself will not be available September 19. Q4 2026 a. Fall Cleanup (November) – All - No new update b. Bird Count (December) – Brian • Brian mentioned that there are currently two bird count events; 1. The Christmas Bird Count that typically takes place in early January, and 2. The Great Backyard Bird Count event that takes place in February. He asked the group if we should participate in the second larger one instead of the first. Tom mentioned he prefers the Christmas timeframe and would like to keep that day. It was noted that we have already established some momentum for that event and that we have a structure in place. The decision was made to continue with it. 8. External Projects a. Communication – Facebook Account • Brian asked if anyone is aware if the new Facebook page now contains the link to our blog. Meg is going to look into it. b. Missing Garbage Receptacle – Ken Mercer SWNAMAC - 4 - March 17, 2026 • Ken confirmed this is going to happen just waiting on the weather. c. Additional Butterfly Nets – Ken Mercer • Ken has the nets and are currently in storage, but he noted that the nets need to be assembled. 9. Other Business a. Barriers for new Pollinator Planting Area (barrier options) – Ken Mercer • Ken mentioned a few options being reviewed 1. Arbor Stone and 2. Natural Stone 3. Metal Bollards. Once a decision is made Ken will inform the group. b. Leo Blindenbach SWNA Memorial – All • Wording has been confirmed, thank you to Meg for providing the wording. • Ken will send the different options of plaques with the wording so the group can vote on the preferred option. • Ken confirmed his manager approved putting the plaque at the Gazebo. c. Develop 2026 Workplan (discuss 2026 events lineup) – All o Tree Identification Walk: – Michael confirmed that he would be happy to lead the walk with Jeff, one of the staff members from Clarington. - Michael mentioned late June would be a good time but will confirm. o Spring Ephemerals Identification: - Tom mentioned that it looks like the window for the spring ephemeral wildflowers blooming is usually between the last week of April into mid- May. The first or second week of May might be a good time (e.g. May 9th). Brian will check with his DRFN contacts re their availability to serve as guides. o Presentations: - Meg was able to connect with the Turtle Conservation group and mentioned that they are interested in doing this. Their rates are $100/hr + mileage, but they can be flexible if needed. - Meg included their email response in the Teams chat - Brian asked Meg to inquire about seasonality preference. Meg was thinking that it would probably be good to do this ahead of migration which is around March break timing. - Marg mentioned that if the rec centre does not have space that we can always see about the library in Newcastle as being an option. SWNAMAC - 5 - March 17, 2026 - Brian mentioned that he reached out to Soper Creek, and they confirmed they are available any Sat or Sun in August. The cost is $400. - Brian reached out to Birds of Prey and has not heard back but will follow up with them. d. SWNA Committee communication strategy - All • We are going to keep on the agenda as an information item. 10. Round Table – All • Leah noted she hasn’t been able to get out but is looking forward to when the weather is better for taking her dog for hikes again. • Leanne noted an increase in bunnies this year. • Rod welcomed the 2 new members and offered to be a contact if there are any questions. • Meg mentioned that they have seen lots of owls now and have also seen signs of otters. Meg also mentioned that there was a bit of flooding on the paths when things were melting. • Michael is looking forward to getting out and exploring. • Tom wanted to make note of fishing activity and to have focus on the beach area during the clean-up day. Tom also mentioned there have been lots of owl, mink & otter sightings. • Kayla also noticed the flooding when she went on a walk but mentioned that she did not see any birds when she was out. • Doug is looking forward to being part of the committee. • Ken went for a walk with his wife and grandson, and they had a great time. • Brian is still looking for that grey owl that was spotted but has had no luck and noted that the owl is probably gone now. Brian also welcomed the 2 new members again and mentioned he is looking forward to them being part of the committee. 11. Date Of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to be held on April 21, 2026, commencing at 7:00 p.m. in Room 1C at the Municipal Building or Microsoft Teams. 8. Adjournment Moved by Tom Hossie that the meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Carried