Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour

We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding concerning the changes in Launch Weekend Festivities due to COVID. It was very important th...at we were able to complete our Canoe Building Ceremony without being shut down by the city or Health Unit. (We regret to have had to limit the number of participants for the launching, but needed to limit the total number of people to 25 for the day.) I call the whole build process a ceremony because we began the assembly of the canoe in ceremony, in order to connect the community to the collection of materials, like bark, that were done for us by Chuck Commanda. These materials were collected in a sacred, respectful and sustainable way, but not everyone is capable of participating at this stage. The spirit of the birch tree was asked to come into the canoe to support and sustain the people, and so for us the canoe is a living entity requiring respect and additional care compared to a modern canoe. To us the canoe means so much more to us as a people and individually. We wanted to re-connect to these teachings and experiences and would like you to be able to do that as well. We also asked the ancestors to come and help us learn to build a canoe, heal, and create community. Building a canoe requires cooperation and sharing of skills, both important to a good life. We have birthed a canoe which is the completion of a cycle but it is not an end. The canoe is just beginning its life and unique relationship to each of us. It will remain in the city and will be available to view again. We have invested in photos of the build, video and the Live Facebook Show by 3 Things Consulting (which is still available to watch) in order to make the build process more accessible during COVID. WE ARE IN NEED of space and place to finish assembly of the Photo Story Panels of our build, so they can be made available for viewing. Your help in assembly would be most appreciated and you can also help out in deciding what should be included in the story, and how it should be presented. We are also in need of help in organizing places and spaces for viewing the canoe and photos. Some of this help will be in logistics and some may require the raising of funds to cover expenses involved in this, (for example, we may be able to reschedule our planned Launch Weekend Festivities, that we had to cancel, in the Spring, but will need extra help in order to do this). A desire for more opportunities to celebrate Indigenous culture and knowledge in the Kingston area has been voiced by a variety of people. We would like to brain storm with members of the entire community, Indigenous and non-Indigenous about how to move forward. We are hoping the canoe can be a focal point to enable understanding and relationship building.

HELP OUR INNER HARBOUR TURTLES!

This past Saturday we gave our first presentation of the year for Friends of Frontenac Park’s AGM! We shared the findings of last seasons Northern Map Turtle ...telemetry project which was conducted in Kingston’s Inner Harbour. This project was done in collaboration with Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour and Queen's University. See more

Photos from the Map Turtle Mark/Recapture and Telemetry project this season! This was a collaborative effort between Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour, Reptil...e and Amphibian Advocacy, Queen's University and so many more! I’m still taking in the wealth of information that I learned and how much we accomplished this year. The data from this pilot has already been used in the planning of some major developments in the community including The Third Crossing and the Davis Tannery. I’m praying that next season works out and we secure funding to continue this project!

Yesterday we captured the last female needed for our telemetry study and attached her transmitter! Good luck ABK! It appears that they are overwintering in the channel at Kingston Mills, as three of our females have now travelled there!

Hatchlings are here! A snapping turtle nest that we covered on June 25 finally emerged today! We have also received reports of other hatchlings on the move in the Inner Harbour recently. Keep an eye out