This day is a call to take action for wetlands is the focus of this years’ campaign. It's an appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to save the world’s wetlands from disappearing and to restore those we have degraded.

Collaboration between many organizations help to protect existing coastal wetland habitat and restore the function in priority areas. For example, the Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program has monitored wetland bird and amphibian populations binationally since 1995 with the help of Bird Studies Canada, Essex Region Conservation Authority, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and dedicated volunteers.

In addition, through the Canadian Wildlife Services branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring program is administered to monitor wetland wildlife communities (marsh birds, aquatic macroinvertebrates and submerged aquatic vegetation), habitat and water quality.

Read more about the DRCC's efforts to protect, enhance, monitor, and restore Detroit River wetlands and learn how to protect them by clicking the button below.

The Healthy Headwaters Lab has a single mission: to restore freshwater ecosystems to full health and vitality for the benefit of future generations. This lab is spearheaded by Dr. Catherine Febria who is the Canada Research Chair in Freshwater Restoration Ecology – among many other hats she wears -   at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor. 

The lab conducts research in Canada, the United States and New Zealand, focusing on a variety of headwater ecosystems such as drains, wetlands, streams and interfaces between surface and groundwater. These are incredible places are among those most threatened by human actions, conflicting legal protections and climate change. To read more about the Healthy Headwaters Lab, visit their website here.

Bill Roesel is the retired manager of forestry and horticulture with the City of Windsor and currently serves as the President of the Friends of Ojibway Prairie. He is well known locally as a skilled naturalist and expert on all things forestry. Through his career, he supported countless efforts to protect, enhance and restore many properties by engaging with many partners.

In addition to celebrating Conservation Award winners, ERCA recognized several staff milestones at the virtual Annual General Meeting.

Congrats to Gina Pannunzio, DRCC's Remedial Action Plan Assistant and ERCA's Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator for reaching five years with ERCA and the DRCC.

Congratulations to all of the award winners this year! Click the following links for the Annual Report video, and the video of the Conservation Award Winners.  

The Detroit River Coalition invites artists in the US and Canada to participate in an Earth Day Exhibition at the Belle Isle Aquarium, scheduled for April 2022. Each artist selected will be highlighted on Detroit River Coalition website and social media accounts and will receive invitation(s) to attend the Earth Day opening reception on Thursday, April 21, 2022, at the Belle Isle Aquarium. Art will be on exhibition April 21 – 24, 2022.

Please submit a digital version of your work (2-D, 3-D or written or performing art) and your artist’s statement (one page maximum) via the ‘Call for Artists’ form on Detroit River Coalition website. The deadline to submit is 11:59pm on Friday, March 4, 2022.

Please email Genevieve Rattray Nowak at nowakg@belleisleconservancy.org with any questions. Please have the subject line of your email read: Call for Artists.

For hundreds of years, the Detroit River has been a focus for boating, fishing and hunting, as well as nature viewing and appreciation. New fishing docks and observation platforms have been constructed, and soft-shore engineering projects have enhanced the aesthetics of the river while also improving fish habitat values and access for fishing. Through the DRCC partnership, efforts to restore, enhance and protect fish populations and habitat have improved many fish species’ health and presence in the river overtime. The River is known internationally for its Muskellunge, Walleye, White Bass and Yellow Perch in addition to other sport fisheries.

Four times a year, Canadian residents can fish in Ontario without buying a fishing license, during:

License-free periods remind us of the value of Ontario’s recreational fishery, and the importance of keeping it healthy for future generations. You must:

A new story map, "Water Levels in the Great Lakes Story Map" was published by the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in late 2021. It explores the importance of the Great Lakes, how water levels have changed over time, monitoring and management programs and provides a library of resources.

Millions of people rely on the Great Lakes for recreation, industry, and drinking water. Changing water levels can have positive or negative impacts on a variety of industries such as transportation, recreation and tourism. Presently, anthropogenic climate change is affecting precipitation events and temperatures across the Great Lakes Basin while future predictions suggest this will continue. How water levels might change the Great Lakes is unknown, therefore it is critical to continue to monitor them.

Many different agencies from the United States and Canada work together to manage and monitor the Great Lakes water levels. The United States and Canada maintain coordinated datasets of lakewide average water levels for all of the Great Lakes that go back to 1918. It’s not unusual for Great Lakes water levels to fluctuate.

The Town of Amherstburg is looking for input on four future park projects including:

Participation is easy! Visit www.talktheburg.ca and complete the surveys.

Invasive Species Awareness Week (ISAW) is taking place from Monday February 28 to Friday March 4 on behalf of the Invasive Species Centre and their partners. Each year, this week is held to raise awareness about the threat that invasive species pose on our natural heritage.

For more information and resources about invasive species, click on the following links:

The Windsor Assembly Plant Unifor Local 444 Stellantis Joint Environment Committee is pleased to present the Wonders of Winter: Environmental Art contest!

This art contest is open to all Stellantis employees and their friends and families. All art media will be accepted including photography, painted work, sketches, sculptures as well as cooking/baking with locally grown food. Bonus credits will be given for local context.

Participants can e-mail photos of their final submission to Allison Kozolanka between January 1 and April 30 2022 at allison.kozolanka@stellantis.com.

Each year people from around the world come together to watch, learn about, count, and celebrate birds. Participating is easy, fun to do alone, or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.