Please join us to launch the new Swamp Watch program on Saturday, October 30th, 9:00 am at Ellice Swamp (intersection of Road 125 and Line 44). Nine Swamp Watch signs will be installed by volunteers around the perimeter of Ellice Swamp and Gads Hill Swamp on the morning of October 30th. These signs are being placed to encourage community members to help monitor activities in and around these Provincially Significant Wetlands.
This initiative, believed to be the first of its kind in Ontario, is the combined effort of the Friends of Ellice and Gads Hill Swamps, Crime Stoppers of Perth County, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Municipality of Perth East, and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.
Ellice Swamp and Gads Hill Swamp are Provincially Significant Wetlands that are home to a variety of regionally and provincially rare species of plants. These swamps are the largest natural areas in Perth County, and cover more than 1,700 hectares. These properties play an important role in protecting drinking water, by storing and purifying groundwater and surface water.
The Friends of Ellice and Gads Hill Swamps work with the community to:
o Protect and improve ecosystem health
o Promote community participation, awareness, and ongoing learning
o Ensure public safety and wise use
Crime Stoppers is a community-based program and registered charity that brings the public, the media and law enforcement agencies together in cooperative effort to help solve crime. This is accomplished by offering cash rewards and guaranteeing anonymity to persons who furnish information leading to the arrest of or laying of charges against criminal offenders. Perth County Crime Stoppers is funded entirely by tax deductible donations from the private and corporate sectors.
Please see the attached PDF of the new Swamp Watch sign.
Directions
From Stratford, follow Line 119 (#19) north, turn left (west) onto the Line 44, continue on the Line 44 past Road 122 to the intersection of Line 44 and Road 125. Watch for the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority truck and the Swamp Watch sign.
Contacts:
Bill Mackie
Superintendent, Support Services and Properties
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
[email protected]
(519) 451-2800 ext. 278
or
Jane Boyce
Chair, Friends of Ellice and Gads Hill Swamps
[email protected]