Alderville Black Oak Savanna
8467 Northumberland County Road 18 K0K 2X0

This week (February 22-26) is Invasive Species Awareness Week. Each day this week, we will share a combined way that invasive species and climate change reduce ecosystem resilience and negatively impact biodiversity. Climate Change leads to more "frequent extreme weather events, which stress native species and create space and opportunity for invasive species movement and extablishment" Spotted Knapweed is found at the Black Oak Savanna, and it thrives in hot dry weather and ...is able to spread it's seeds to occupy open space. Source: Invasive Species Centre Image: Gillian di Petta

Do you have a background is Ecological Restoration, Ecosystem Management or a similar field? We are looking for 1 Ecological Restoration Technician to join our field team on a 12 month contract. For full job posting and to apply: http://aldervillesavanna.ca/index.php/jobs-volunteering/ - Rob Lonsberry

This Wildlife Wednesday, we are featuring another mammal found on the Black Oak Savanna property, White-tailed Deer, (Odocoileus virginianus). Deer is waawaashkeshi (wah-wash-ka-she) in Ojibway (From Enriched 'Where Fires Dance'). In Ontario, there are 4 members of the Cervidae (Deer Family), this includes Moose, Caribou, Elk and White-tailed Deer. When deer feel threatened, they lift their tail exposing the white underside - this is called "flagging" and it signals to the ba...by (fawn) to follow the mother, and makes her easier to see through the woods. White-tailed deer stomach have four compartments, similar to a cow, this allows plants to be processed efficiently. With this specialized stomach they are able to eat things most other herbivores and omnivores can't, leaving them more food. Source: https://www.canadiangeographic.ca//animal-facts-white-tail Image:Stock If you are interested in your own copy of the Enriched - Where Fires Dance visit our 'Shop' on our website www.aldervillesavanna.ca

When you think about how strong indigenous women are, you’re never supposed to let anything stop you, Autumn says.

Do you have bird feeders around your property? Here at the Black Oak Savanna we have a few feeders and have seen Goldfinches, Redpolls, Nuthatches, Dark-eyed Juncos and more! If you would like to contribute to a data source about birds at your feeders sign-up for Project Feederwatch! When registering you can receive a lovely bird poster! https://www.birdscanada.org/you-can-h/project-feederwatch/

The Christmas Bird Count is North America's longest-running Citizen Science project. This initiative happens in over 2000 locations throughout the Western Hemisphere. The Christmas Bird Count occurs on a single day between December 14th and Janurary 5th. They are carried out within a 24-km diameter circle that remains the same year to year, for consistent data collection. This event will be implementing COVID protocols, find an event near you! https://www.birdscanada.org/apps/cbc/mapviewer.jsp

Through our summer of Bumblebee Watch we have recorded many different bumblebees from May-October. The ABOS staff consistently found that more bumblebees were spotted when there was cloud cover, or if we went early in the day before the temperature was high. According to BBC "Climbing temperatures will increasingly cause declines", we noticed these increased temperatures deterring bumblebees from pollinating at the BOS interpretive garden. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51375600

An ecological footprint is "the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources". This framework addresses climate change in a comprehensive way by measuring carbon emissions. Understanding and measuring you own use of natural resources can promote change to reduce your impact on the climate. Calculate your ecological footprint here: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/

The Alderville Black Oak Savanna would like to recognize the Alderville Cenotaph today, which was constructed in 1927 by Alf McKeel and Son of Campbellford who supplied the design and donated the materials for the project. Volunteers supplied the labour. The cube on the very top symbolizes the four courners of the earth. The three globes beneath the cube symbolize the Holy Trinity. the three large pillars suporting the above symbolize the three holy virtues - Faith, Hope and ...Charity. The square base on which the Cenotaph stands symbolizes the four freedoms - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear and freedom of the press. The nine large cubes around the Cenotaph represent the nine men who were killed in World War 1. The chain that is comprised of 35 links that encircles the Cenotpah represents the 35 residents who served in World War 1 and at the same time represents Eternity. The members of the band at Alderville had one of the highest per capita enlistments in Canada in World War I. http://images.ourontario.ca/Cobourg/18038/data See more

AFN Elder Brian Beaver has recently written a book about the history of Alderville First Nation from an Anishinaabe perspective. Available now at our online shop! http://aldervillesavanna.ca//alderville-first-nation-a-hi/

In support of our Greenbelt partners!

The fall brings seed collecting at the Alderville BOS! One of the important seeds we collect are...of course...Black Oak acorns. When collecting acorns (and other seeds) we conduct a "Float Test". This involves placing all the collected seeds in a bucket of water for a few hours. Generally speaking, the seeds that float have some sort of damage or a non-viable seed. In the second image, you can see that two floating seeds were removed and have insect damage and would not be viable for growing. This is a very simple test to show how many viable seeds have been collected.

The Alderville Black Oak Savanna team deployed 3 bat boxes at the Sandercock Creek restoration site, last month. We hope to see one of our 8 native bat species make this into their new home. On the ABOS site we have records of Big Brown Bat, Silver-haired Bat and Hoary Bats. We are optimistic that Big Brown or Little Brown Bats will use these new Bat boxes made from reclaimed wood. Bats seek homes that replicate their natural roosting areas like tree bark or other tight spaces. For more information about Bat Boxes, visit: https://batwatch.ca

Looking for native plants in 2021? Check out www.LTC.on.ca

Big shout-out to the Kawartha Wildlife Centre for being so responsive, professional and knowledgeable! We hope for a speedy recovery! Kawartha Wildlife Centre

We have harvested our Pumpkin crop for the year! These are free for Alderville First Nation residents, swing by the center to pick yours up! We also have a limited amount of seed packets available!

Yesterday was orange shirt day, held annually on Sept. 30th as a way to acknowledge these experiences everyday and learn more about the history of residential schools. Here at the Black Oak Savanna, we encourage you to acknowledge these experiences everyday and learn more about the history of residential schools.

We’ve got a new batch of Wildflower Resin Necklaces up on our online shop! Here's a sample of 3 options available. All proceeds go towards the restoration of local grassland & riparian ecosystems. Visit www.aldervillesavanna.ca/index.php/shop to shop now!

Remember not to blame Goldenrod this allergy season! Many people think Goldenrod is the culprit for seasonal allergies; however, Goldenrod has very heavy pollen which is not easily carried in the wind. This means it is Ragweed pollen, which is very light, swirling in the air and causing you to sneeze! A single Ragweed plant is able to produce 1 billion grains of pollen and the Goldenrod are pollinated by insects, not wind. There are 30 species of Goldenrod found here in Ontario and they make excellent additions to pollinator gardens!

Attention Alderville Community Members!

This is why the prairie can store carbon. Only 4% of the tallgrass prairie is left. When the first settlers came to the rich grasslands and dug them up, billion...s of tons of carbon went into the atmosphere. We are just now figuring this out. HOW do we get the carbon back into the soil when most of that prairie system is gone? Digging Deep Reveals the Intricate World of Roots http://proof.nationalgeographic.com//digging-deep-reveals/

It's seed collecting season! Currently we are running our seed harvester to collect the seeds of Big bluestem, Indian Grass and Little bluestem. Soon we will start hand-collecting forb species to use in future restoration practices.

According to the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network, a 300 square foot rain garden can infiltrate 12,000 gallons of water every year. Based on this equation, our new rain garden will allow around 50,000 litres of water to cleanly permeate into the ground each year. This garden has many native species that love to have wet roots such as: Cardinal Flower, Blue Lobelia, Obedient Plant, Ironweed, Bottle Gentian, Blue Flag Iris, Jewelweed and Mountain Mint.

When talking about the effects of climate change on birds the impacts are significant. Food and nesting materials that birds rely on may no longer exist in their native range or they might follow unusual patterns, for example insect populations or berry production. According to Nature Canada, in northern Hudson Bay, the mosquito population hits peak numbers earlier in spring than usual. This, leaves less insects for the birds mid-late spring when they are needed as a food source. At the Alderville BOS, we monitor nesting birds (Primarily Eastern Blue Birds and Tree Swallows, photo below) and their broods throughout nesting season to record critical data to see if there are any changes in nesting and brooding times. Photo: Radek Odolczyk https://naturecanada.ca//how-climate-change-is-affecting/.

Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) is finally in bloom! Fun fact: these little flowers are called spikelets, which are fringed with white hairs. This causes the plant to look silver and gold.

Although our trails remain closed to the public, we now have an online store to shop for your favourite ABOS merch! By shopping with us your donation goes towards restoration efforts on the Black Oak Savanna! Items you can find include our unique resin necklaces, bat boxes, T-shirts and more! http://aldervillesavanna.ca/index.php/shop/

Our Pollinator Hotel has been buzzing with many native insects over the past few days! "About 30% of Ontario's native bees are cavity nesters, which means the females find small holes to lay their eggs in. Honey bees are not native to Ontario, there are about 400 native species of bees in Ontario, which includes bumblebees, wasps an more. It is very important to help provide habitat for solitary bees in your backyard to support native bee populations. The ABOS has small pollinator hotels available, message us for more information! https://www.ontariowoodlot.com//woodlots-a-refuge-for-onta.

Wanting to learn more and contribute to Monarch butterfly data? Flight of the Monarch Day is a nationwide event which raises awareness and educates the public about the Monarch butterfly. August 22, 2020, "communities and organizations across Canada will be coming together to celebrate one of North America's most cherished insects!". For more information of how to participate visit monarchnation.ca for resources of how to get your kids involved as well with weekly activities! #feeltheflutter Photo: Jacey Moore

Bumblebee populations are declining along with many other native pollinator species. With the increase in temperature on a global scale, climate change has resulted in bees struggling to adapt to warmer temperatures. This is why the Black Oak Savanna studies and records bumblebee species found in the Interpretive Garden every week. Using Bumblebee Watch we catch the bumblebee, take photos and submit those images to a North American-wide database. Anyone can participate and your data goes towards important research! Learn more at www.bumblebeewatch.org Sources: https://www.theverge.com//climate-change-bumble-bees-extin