UTRCA Shares Conservation Stories

Friday, 13 May 2016 05:48

The UTRCA is sharing a collection of stories they gathered from local land owners about conservation efforts.

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority spent their winter meeting with local land owners to share stories and ideas.

They talked about different ways to do soil and water conservation for things like buffer strips, cover crops, erosion control structures, and fragile land retirement. Manager of Conservation Services Brad Glasman tells Heart FM they wanted to engage landowners who have already adopted conservation practices.

"How things fell out when they did adopt them, the lessons learned, the good things, the obstacles that they faced, and how things turned out as a whole."

Glasman says he hopes these stories inspire other landowners to try conservation techniques on their properties.

"I hope these stories inspire other landowners to try conservation techniques on their properties, too. The UTRCA provides free technical assistance for conservation projects and can help to find funding assistance."

He explains how they were able to do the project.

"The project overall was an effort by the Great Lakes Agriculture Stewardship Initiative and through the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association and Ministry of Agriculture and Food they provided us with this opportunity."

Conservation stories and techniques are shared by local landowners at the following links:

Buffer Strips

Bob Brickman, Avonbank area landowner, Perth County
Gerald Kodde, Granton area landowner, Middlesex County
http://thamesriver.on.ca/landowner-grants-stewardship/farmland-bmps/farmland-bmp-buffer-strips/

Cover Crops

Ken Nixon, Ilderton area landowner, Middlesex County
Veldman Family, Embro area landowners, Oxford County

http://thamesriver.on.ca/landowner-grants-stewardship/farmland-bmps/farmland-bmp-cover-crops/

Erosion Control Structures

Steve & Cobi Sauder, St. Marys area landowners, Oxford County
Veldman Family, Embro area landowners, Oxford County

http://thamesriver.on.ca/landowner-grants-stewardship/farmland-bmps/farmland-bmp-erosion-control-structures/

Fragile Land Retirement

Jim & Wendy Anderson, Motherwell area landowners, Perth County
Tom & Sylvia Mayberry, Woodstock area landowners, Oxford County
Barb & Bernie Smith, London area landowners, Middlesex County

http://thamesriver.on.ca/landowner-grants-stewardship/farmland-bmps/farmland-bmp-fragile-land-retirement/

Windbreaks

Tom & Wendi Jackson, Kintore area landowners, Oxford County
Bill Matheson, Harrington area landowner, Oxford County

http://thamesriver.on.ca/landowner-grants-stewardship/farmland-bmps/farmland-bmp-windbreaks/