Come and see us at EarthFest

April 20, 2024 @ Central Library and Citi Plaza- 55 Wellington St. 11am to 4 pm
Celebrating environmental action in London, Ontario
It’s a free event for the whole family!

Learn more about EarthFest Here

The post EarthFest – April 20, 2024 first appeared on Meadowlily Woods.

The post EarthFest – April 20, 2024 appeared first on Meadowlily Woods.

Reptile species have a useful and important role in ecosystems. They help control the numbers of serious agricultural pests by consuming rodent and insect pests. Removal of any species from its ecosystem can drastically alter the populations of other organisms.

Many turtles are scavengers and get their nutrients by eating dead things from the bottom of waterbodies, in addition to eating small living plants and animals. In the lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands that they occupy, they are effectively the cleaning crew, removing sources of harmful bacteria. This “nutrient” cycling keeps all of the living things in those ecosystems, including us, healthy. Because turtles travel between both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems they are a major source of energy transfer between the two. Turtles’ diets and unique digestive systems means that they carry and deliver the seeds, bacteria and nutrients from one habitat to another. They essentially leave the gift of restoration. Turtles help new plants grow and ecosystems thrive; they bring new seeds and the necessary plant fertilizers across wide expanses as they travel between ecosystems, through their droppings!

If tomorrow, you woke up and all snakes ceased to exist, there would be extreme consequences that would soon follow. Many animals that are considered ‘pests’ would soon have population booms and wouldn’t be able to be kept in check. It can be potentially more severe since rodents are typically reservoirs for disease (i.e. Lyme disease) that could also potentially affect humans as well.

Snapping Turtle – Chelydra serpentina

The Snapping Turtle is Canada’s largest freshwater turtle, reaching an average length of 20-36 cm and a weight of 4.5-16.0 kg. Snapping turtles have large black, olive or brown shells typically covered in algae. Their tails, which can be longer than their bodies, have dinosaur-like triangular crests along their length. Hatchlings are about the size of a loonie and are smaller and darker than adults, with pronounced ridges along the length of their shell

Status Special Concern – “Special Concern” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Spiny Soft-shell Turtle – Apalone spinifera

The Spiny softshell is a medium-large freshwater turtle that is easily recognized by its shell, which is round, rather flat, leathery and can reach up to 54 centimetres long. It is also distinguished by its snorkel-like snout. Unlike any other Ontario turtles, this species has a soft shell. The shell is olive or tan in colour with dark blotches and tiny spine projections along the front edge. The body is usually olive, brown or grey in colour.

Status Endangered – “Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation. The most significant threat to Canadian populations of Spiny softshell is habitat degradation, particularly due to riverbank stabilization, development along shorelines, changes in water levels, dams and recreation. Nest mortality can be very high due to human recreational activities at nest sites and nest predation by raccoons and foxes. Development and recreation may also be blocking access to nesting, hibernation, feeding and basking sites. This turtle suffers high mortality due to collisions with motorboats, trapping and incidental mortality from fisheries.

Spiny Soft-shell Turtle emerging from its egg.

Queensnake – Regina septemvittata

The Queensnake is a non-venomous, slender snake that can reach up to 60 centimetres in length. It lives in streams and rivers with good water quality where it can hunt for crayfish, its main food source. The body is brownish olive above with three dark stripes running down the back. The belly is pale yellow with four dark stripes running along its length. This species can be easily identified as it is the only snake in Ontario with a longitudinally striped belly.

Status Endangered – “Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation. The most significant threat to the Queensnake is habitat loss due to drainage or disturbance of waterways, urban development along shorelines, and pollution. As a result of waterway pollution, crayfish, which require good water quality, have died out and Queensnake numbers have declined.

To learn more about species at risk go to: https://www.ontario.ca/page/species-risk

Photo and Video Credits – Southern Ontario At Risk Reptiles (SOARR)

Photo Credits – Steve Donnelly

Video Credits – Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre

The post Species at Risk – Reptiles first appeared on Meadowlily Woods.

The post Species at Risk – Reptiles appeared first on Meadowlily Woods.

The forested slopes above the south branch of the Thames River were created at the end of the ice age through a glacial spillway through the Ingersoll moraine. According to a Natural Inventory in 1987 commissioned by the City of London, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, McIIwraith Field Naturalists and the Urban League of London, Meadowlily Woods is one of the largest remaining settings in the area.

Forests are so much more than a collection of trees. They are complex living worlds that encompass intertwined layers of life and stretch across massive, diverse landscapes. They’re also nature’s great providers: the benefits of trees include pulling carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering it via photosynthesis, filtering and absorbing air pollutants, releasing clean oxygen for us to breathe, providing habitat and food for wildlife, stabilizing soils, growing food and medicine, protecting us from harmful UV rays, acting as natural air conditioners, securing our freshwater supplies, and amongst many other benefits!

Butternut – Juglans cinerea

Butternut is a medium-sized tree that can reach up to 30 m in height. It belongs to the walnut family and produces edible nuts in the fall. The bark of younger trees is grey and smooth, becoming ridged as it ages. Butternut is easily recognized by its compound leaves, which are made up of 11 to 17 leaflets (each nine to 15 centimetres long) arranged in a feather-like pattern. The fruit is a large nut that contains a single seed surrounded by a light green, sticky, fuzzy husk.

Status Endangered – “Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation. The Butternut was already assessed as endangered when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008. A reassessment in November 2017 confirmed this status.

Blue ash – Fraxinus quadrangulata

The Blue Ash is a medium-sized tree with a straight, slender trunk supporting a narrow, rounded crown. Blue Ash grows 15 to 20 metres tall and the trunk is 15 to 25 centimetres in diameter. The bark is greyish and scaley. The leaves are opposite and compound, each with five to 11 leaflets. The leaflets are elongated, oval in shape, and have coarsely toothed edges. Blue Ash grows quickly and can live 125 to 150 years.

Blue Ash can be found on the southeast side of the Meadowlily Woods environmentally significant area. Forest removal was the main cause of the decline of this species in Ontario. Status Threatened – “Threatened” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it.

Kentucky Coffee-tree – Gymnocladus dioicus

Kentucky Coffee-tree is a moderate-sized, deciduous tree in the legume (pea) family. It has large, doubly-compound leaves that can reach one metre in length and produces greenish-white flowers that become hard, dark, bean-like pods when fertilized. The term coffee-tree originates from historical use of the roasted seeds in a coffee-like drink. Early settlers attempted to use the seeds as a substitute for coffee, however, the taste left something to be desired. The beverage is toxic when consumed in large quantities.

Status Threatened – “Threatened” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it. In 2021 the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario classified the species as threatened in its native Ontario range, which includes Elgin, Essex, Lambton, Middlesex, Norfolk and Oxford Counties and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

To learn more about species at risk go to: https://www.ontario.ca/page/species-risk

The post Species at Risk – Trees first appeared on Meadowlily Woods.

The post Species at Risk – Trees appeared first on Meadowlily Woods.

Meadowlily Woods is identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources of containing both Provincially Significant Wetlands and Habitant for Endangered Species. Meadowlily Woods has over 350 species of vascular plants that were recorded in 80 families.

Meadowlily Woods is part of the Forks of the Thames watershed and according to the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority is home to 34 Species at Risk. This beautiful area of London is very special because it has everything: mature upland forests, forested ravines that are dissected by intermittent streams, bottomland forests, floodplain forests, shrub thickets, marshes, meadows and provides a natural corridor for wildlife to the river and other sources of food.

Wood-poppy – Stylophorum diphyllum

Wood-poppy is a perennial herb that reaches up to 40 centimetres in height. The long-stalked leaves are mostly found near the base of the plant and are deeply divided into five to seven main lobes, which are themselves irregularly lobed.

The primary threat to Wood-poppy is habitat loss and degradation due to residential development and road-building, agricultural expansion, logging, recreational activities and the impact of invasive species such as Garlic Mustard and Japanese Knotweed. The Wood-poppy was already assessed as endangered when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008. In Canada, there are only three known populations of Wood-poppy found in southwestern Ontario, all in the county of Middlesex – Meadowlily Woods being one of them.

Eastern Flowering Dogwood – Cornus florida

Eastern Flowering Dogwood is a small tree that reaches 3-10 metres in height and has oval leaves arranged in pairs along the branch. The bark of larger trees is brownish-grey and separated into scales, giving it the appearance of alligator skin. Tiny yellow flowers grow in clusters at the ends of small branches and are surrounded by four large, showy white leaves that look like petals. 

The Eastern Flowering Dogwood is listed as an endangered species under the ESA which protects both the tree and its habitat. The Act prohibits any damage or destruction of that habitat without authorization. Such authorization would require that conditions established by the Ministry of Natural Resources be met. “Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation.

Eastern False Rue-anemone – Enemion biternatum

Eastern False Rue-anemone is a member of the buttercup family. It grows to a height of 10 to 40 centimetres. Most leaves are divided into three groups of three leaflets, each leaflet being irregularly two to three lobed. The flowers, which bloom in early spring, occur singly or in groups of two to four.

Status Threatened – Threatened means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it. The main threat to Eastern False Rue-anemone is habitat destruction due to recreational activities such as cycling, ATV-use and hiking, that can result in inadvertent trampling of this plant. Forest clearing, soil erosion, and agricultural run-off are also concerns. Road salt is known to have harmed at least one population in Ontario.

Green Dragon – Arisaema dracontium

The Green Dragon is a perennial wildflower which grows 15 to 90 centimetres tall. There is usually just one long-stalked leaf divided into five to 13, sometimes as many as 21, elliptic to broadly lance-shaped leaflets. A separate stalk holds the plant’s green-yellow blossom. A long narrow leaf-like cup surrounds the flower spike which protrudes beyond it evoking the idea of a dragon’s tongue.

Green Dragon is listed as a species of special concern under the ESA. The main threats to Green Dragon populations in Ontario are habitat loss and degradation. This species is specially adapted to survival in forested floodplain habitat and therefore is susceptible to habitat alterations such as changes to the forest canopy structure or the hydrology of the site. Floodplains are currently protected through zoning, however, development on adjacent upland areas may impact hydrology and introduce other threats (e.g., invasive species, trampling along trails). Hardening of surfaces through paving of roads and building construction results in water level peaks and more severe spring flooding. Due to historical and ongoing development, Green Dragon is confined to increasingly small, isolated habitat fragments in Ontario.

To learn more about species at risk go to: https://www.ontario.ca/page/species-risk

The post Species at Risk – Plants first appeared on Meadowlily Woods.

The post Species at Risk – Plants appeared first on Meadowlily Woods.