As the year comes to a close, Kawartha Land Trust (KLT) and the Greenbelt Foundation are pleased to announce a new partnership to restore and steward vital ecosystems along sections of the Oak Ridges Moraine located in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County.
KLT, the Kawarthas’ regional charitable land trust, received a two-and-a-half-year investment of $141K from the Greenbelt Foundation to support the restoration of 75 acres of forest and a 10-acre expansion of the tallgrass prairie at KLT’s Ballyduff Trails nature reserve – all located along sections of the moraine located in the Kawarthas.
This partnership builds upon the Greenbelt Foundation’s commitment to protecting and enhancing Ontario’s Greenbelt – two million acres of protected land that provides clean air, fresh water, climate resilience, and a reliable food source to help Ontario thrive.
The restoration and expansion efforts will centre around Kawartha Land Trust’s popular Ballyduff Trails property, which is open to the public year-round, and private lands in the Fleetwood Creek watershed.
“Making long-lasting impacts on the landscape requires long-term support,” said Hayden Wilson, KLT’s Land Stewardship Manager.
“This multi-year funding from the Greenbelt Foundation is the perfect opportunity to leverage our amazing staff and volunteer teams to make an impact on the land that will result in countless benefits for nature and local communities. We expect this project to engage people directly in conservation work that will affect ecosystem health in the region for decades to come.”
In addition to work at KLT’s Ballyduff Trails property, KLT will increase its impact on the landscape by building upon the organization’s network of existing relationships with private landowners through its Partners in Conservation program and local environmental organizations and businesses. Working together, we can increase natural cover in the area, support biodiversity, and contribute to regional climate resilience.
This fall, the KLT field team commenced with invasive species mapping work at KLT’s Ballyduff Trails nature reserve and neighbouring private lands.
“Invasive plant species are a major threat to the resiliency of forests in Ontario and in Canada more broadly,” shared Elliott Groen, KLT’s Sustainable Forestry Coordinator, a shared position with the Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA).
“Plants like Dog-Strangling-Vine prevent young trees from establishing themselves, meaning there is no future generation to replace trees lost to disease or age. The first part of our project is to map the presence of invasive plant species and patterns in relation to the native vegetation to inform the strategic implementation of best management practices that will improve the forests’ resiliency now and in the future.”
KLT also completed the first of a half dozen planned community tree planting-related events to support the ongoing health and resiliency of forests on the moraine. In late November, KLT staff and students from Lakefield College School conducted regeneration surveys and transplanted 300 saplings from conditions where they would not survive due to overcrowding and low-light conditions. The transplanted saplings, which include Eastern White Pine, Red Oak, Sugar Maple, and Ironwood, will be used for community tree planting events along the Oak Ridges Moraine in 2025 and 2026.
KLT will also work with private landowners to thin monoculture stands of trees to encourage the growth of native plant species in the understory and contribute to the diversification of plant and tree species in these areas, improving biodiversity.
The grant also supports the expansion of the tallgrass prairie at KLT’s Ballyduff Trails. Only one to three per cent of the original extent of tallgrass prairies remain in Ontario. Tallgrass prairies are not only beautiful ecosystems, but provide vital ecosystem services, including improving water quality, and they are home to a rich diversity of plant and wildlife species, including those at risk like Dense Blazing Star and Grasshopper Sparrow.
This fall, with the assistance of volunteers from the community, KLT collected tallgrass and wildflower seeds from the prairie to support the continued restoration and expansion of the prairie through seed casting and future tallgrass seed plug planting. Efforts to remove invasive plant species that threaten the prairie like Scots Pine and Dog-strangling Vine are also planned.
“This partnership exemplifies the Greenbelt Foundation’s dedication to working with partners to preserve and restore the Greenbelt’s natural landscapes,” said Edward McDonnell, CEO of the Greenbelt Foundation.
“By working with Kawartha Land Trust, we’re not only enhancing the health of forests and grasslands on the Oak Ridges Moraine but also fostering community engagement and building climate resilience for generations to come.”
Photo: KLT Volunteer collecting seeds from the tallgrass prairie at KLT’s Ballyduff Trails nature reserve in Kawartha Lakes in October to support the ongoing restoration of this endangered ecosystem. (KLT)
