On October 28, 2020, Otonabee Conservation and local secondary school students from the Youth Leadership in Sustainability (YLS) program planted over 900 trees and shrubs along the shoreline of the Towerhill stormwater management pond along the Parkway Trail in Peterborough’s north end.
Students planted a variety of native trees and shrubs for this shoreline naturalization project, including:
- 45 fragrant sumac
- 248 red osier dogwood
- 50 elderberry
- 45 snowberry
- 50 willow
- 55 black chokeberry
- 95 willow live stakes
- 375 dogwood live stakes
These species provide a number of benefits including habitat for wildlife and stabilization of the shoreline around the pond.
“We are pleased to collaborate with the City of Peterborough, who is responsible for the ongoing vegetation management and operation of the stormwater management pond, to engage local youth in naturalization projects like this,” shares Dan Marinigh, Otonabee Conservation’s CAO, “These types of opportunities allow students to participate in positive, meaningful actions to mitigate climate change in our watershed.”
The YLS program is an experiential-learning program based in Peterborough, Ontario that prepares grade 11 and 12 students for leadership roles in sustainability initiatives at the local and global levels.
Otonabee Conservation is organizing several native tree plantings that will take place throughout the fall, planting 5,690 trees that will sequester over 1.2 million kg of Carbon over their lifetime, with generous support from five community partners.