There are so many ways you can get involved in and around the Bay.
Take a minute to learn about all the organizations working to protect the Bay by exploring our guide to the GB5.
Or see how you and your entire family can contribute by becoming a Guardians of the Bay.
Who Does What on Georgian Bay? Your Guide to the GB5 Organizations Working to Protect the Bay
Read More...The “Guardians of the Bay” (GOTB) is an initiative to permeate a mentality of protection and preservation across all parties that touch Georgian Bay, in any way, big or small.
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The temperature has been close to average so far this month. Lake Michigan-Huron is now 4 inches lower than it was at this time last year. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 1, 2, 3, 4 & 2 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 7, 4, 6, 5 & 13 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie are 2, 7 & 10 inches, respectively, above their long-term April average and Lake Superior & Ontario are 1 & 4 inches below, respectively. All the lakes remain well below their April record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair,
Canada's federal government is warning of the potential for another "catastrophic wildfire season". In a press conference, the Canadian Emergency Preparedness Minister, Harjit Sajjan, said low snowpack levels and a forecast for warmer-than-average spring weather are combining to create high wildfire risk for much of the country. Southern Quebec, eastern Ontario and Western Canada were noted as particularly at risk. The map below shows the extent and severity of drought conditions across Canada as of March 31, 2024. So far April has brought snow and rain to Ontario which may temper some of the risk. Wildfire season typically runs from April 1 through October 31 annually. Read more about the 2024 wi
Lake Michigan-Huron is now 4 inches lower than it was at this time last year. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 0, 2, 3, 2 & 2 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 7, 4, 10, 7 & 11 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie are 0, 6 & 8 inches, respectively, above their long-term April average and Lake Superior & Ontario are 2 & 5 inches below, respectively. All the lakes remain well below their April record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are expected to rise by 2, 3, 2, 2 & 6
Parks Canada is currently seeking public comments on the introduction of a new regulation to restrict floating homes from mooring overnight on the Trent-Severn Waterway and the Rideau Canal. This change, which will take effect on May 1, 2024, on the historic canals, is intended to give Parks Canada greater control over floating accommodations that are not primarily used for navigation on its waterways. All other mooring provisions will remain the same for property owners and boats at lock stations and licensed marinas. - Although the Trent-Severn Waterway is not on Georgian Bay, this notice is another step to getting the right regulations in place with all levels of federal, provincial and municipal government and provides a useful precedent which will help our ongoing efforts on Floatin
There have been warmer-than-normal temperatures in the basin in March. Lake Michigan-Huron is now 2 inches lower than it was at this time last year. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior & St Clair are down 1 & 0 inches, respectively, and Lakes Michigan-Huron, Erie & Ontario are up 1, 1 & 2 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 8, 2, 7, 7 & 8 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 3, 9, 12 & 2 inches, respectively, above their long-term March average and Lake Superior is 1 inch below. All the lakes remain well below their March record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Sup
It is with great sadness that we report that Wally King passed away peacefully on March 25 at the age of 90. Wally was a true and loyal friend to the preservation of the Georgian Bay environment and a tireless advocate for protecting our precious ecosystem. - As a long-time director and president of the Sans Souci & Copperhead Association and GBA, Wally inspired countless people to go the extra mile to do what they could for the Bay. Among his most notable and enduring achievements were his roles in reviving the Georgian Bay Association, which had ceased operations in the 1970s, and building it back up prior to the formation of the Township of the Archipelago and the Georgian Bay Land Trust, all of which have gone from strength to strength over the years. In his many travels througho
GBA representatives met with Brian Saunderson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey, to discuss how to reduce microplastic/microfibre pollution in the Great Lakes. This exploratory meeting should lead to the development of a strategy to build consensus across industry, academia, government and NGOs on how we can work together to get microfibre filters installed on new washing machine filters, and encourage their application on existing washing machines. - Eden Hataley, from the University of Toronto, presented a summary of the issue to show why action is needed. See the presentation here. -
GBA's Aquaculture committee has written again to the federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) to ask that they review the industry’s expansion plans and compliance with the Great Lakes Water Quality/Canada-Ontario agreements. Open net pen fish farms are not permitted in the US Great Lakes states. - Read the letter, here: GBA Letter to DFO Minister - March 16, 2024 - Read more about the aquaculture issue here. -
A University of Windsor project, in partnership with the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), is raising sturgeon for release with the goal of rebuilding a healthy, self-sustaining lake sturgeon population in the Detroit River. The project is focused on naturalizing juvenile sturgeon to their environment so future generations can flourish in the wild. Raised in tanks on the Detroit River, researchers are studying young sturgeon in varied environments to see how different factors affect their growth. Upon eventual release, these young fish can then be monitored and tracked for decades to come due to their slow growth and long lifespans. Once incredibly abundant, the Great Lakes sturgeon population is currently listed as endangered. It is estimated that the current
There have been warmer than normal temperatures in the basin in March so far. Lake Michigan-Huron is now one inch above where it was at this time last year. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, & Erie are down 1 & 0 inches, respectively, and Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair & Ontario are up 1, 2 & 2 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 9, 1, 3, 4 & 6 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 3, 11, 12 & 2 inches, respectively, above their long-term March average and Lake Superior is 1 inch below. All the lakes remain well below their March record highs. - In a month’s t
The warmer temperatures in the basin in February are continuing into March so far. Lake Michigan-Huron is lower than it was at this time last year. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron & Erie are down 2, 0, & 1 inches, respectively, and Lakes St Clair & Ontario are both up 1 inch. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 8, 1, 2, 5 & 5 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 3, 11, 12 & 2 inches, respectively, above their long-term March average and Lake Superior is 1 inch below. All the lakes remain well below their March record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Hu
What’s your name and what’s your connection to Georgian Bay? Sheila Williams and I (Celesta Bjornson) are the co-presidents of the Bay of Islands Association (BICA) and have been enjoying our summers in the Bay of Islands since we were toddlers. My family is from Pittsburgh and we originally found the Bay of Islands in the 1950s by vacationing at a fishing lodge called Moredolpton Lodge. Sheila's family is one of the founding families of the Bay of Islands. Her grandfather discovered the Bay of Islands in early 1900s while working on the lakers, travelling from southern Georgian Bay to the North Channel, transporting lumber back south. He fell in love with the area and purchased an island around 1924 and began building a cottage. Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to yo
Luc Voorn is a cottager in the South Channel and a passionate advocate for Georgian Bay. He currently serves as the Membership Chairperson for the South Channel Association (SCA), Editor of the SCA “On the Waterfront” newsletter, and as Director, Friends of the Massasauga Park. This past summer (2019), he was nominated as a Guardian of Georgian Bay for his ongoing enthusiasm and efforts to protect and preserve the Bay. Note from Jamie Drayton, GBA Chair of Guardians of Georgian Bay Committee My Dad used to take us camping. His lure to get us to bathe was to promise us ice cream if we ran into the water first thing in the morning for a swim. I recall the water being absolutely freezing at 7 o’clock in the morning… I don’t recall ever getting any ice cream. A few years l
As nominated by Heather Sargeant My Phragbuster Hero About 5 or 6 years ago, at an event jointly put on by the Georgian Bay Association, Georgian Bay Forever, and featuring Dr. Gilbert, an ecologist with Phragmites expertise , I first learned about invasive Phragmites and the harm it can have on wetlands. I decided to investigate if Phragmites was a threat in Woods Bay (my favourite area of Georgian Bay), and that’s when my journey tackling this plant began. I wasn’t sure if a plant across from the family cottage was indeed the invasive type, and so I was nervous and queasy about leading people to help me cut it. What if it was the native plant, and I’d taken all these people out to cut down something benign? One of my neighbors told me there was a hero on Georgian
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario has just released a useful guide on how to how we can all reduce our environmental footprints. Being a Guardian of the Bay also means doing what we can to reduce our individual consumption of carbon based fuels. - Here is a very good fact sheet and here is a full presentation on this topic. -
What’s your name and what’s your connection to Georgian Bay? Cory Kozmik, Anthony Laforge, Samantha Noganosh, Chevaun Toulouse. We are the Lands and Resource Department for Magnetawan First Nation, in Britt, Ontario. - Source: Magnetawan First Nation Our connection to the Bay is the dense biodiversity that it hosts and the role its ecology plays in our lives, including the environment. It is also where ancestors of the Anishinabek Nation walked and practiced each day what it means to live with the land in reciprocity. The connection to the land and water is sacred to the Anishinaabe culture, and held very close to the communities that inhabit the area. - Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to you? We take great pride in being “Guardians” because it is our
My name is Eileen Maynard; I am 10 years old and the eldest of the 5th generation in my family at our cottage in Cognashene, part of the Georgian Bay Archipelago. Georgian Bay is so special to me. It is where I spend my summers and any weekend we can get free of our crazy life in the city. In the summer you can go swimming and tubing or out to islands for picnics. In the fall, it is so pretty with all of the colorful leaves and trees and a great time to go for a walk on Beausoleil Island. Being a Guardian of the Bay is important to me because Georgian Bay is vital to us and the animals around us. Being a Guardian of the Bay is a responsibility that we all have for keeping it healthy for the next 5 generations. Last year, with my grandfather, I applied for and was accepted as a vo
Sticking it to Garbage Along the Shoreline What’s your name and what’s your connection to Georgian Bay? My name’s Chloe Drayton and I’ve been going to Georgian Bay with my family since I was born - I’m only 7! It’s a nice, peaceful place and it’s nice to go swimming, look for turtles, go exploring on the rocks along the shore and spend time with my family. - Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to you? Because I want to help all the animals and plants in nature and because it’s nicer to enjoy the cottage when there isn’t garbage lying around. I also want to enjoy Georgian Bay for a long, long time so we have to keep it nice and clean. - What’s your story that helps to show your Guardian of the Bay values? Every year we walk around the shoreline of ou
Go Wild and Protect the Bay What is your connection to Georgian Bay? I came from a family of campers. We didn’t have a cottage. This was back in the 1960s and early 70s and Killbear Provincial Park was one of my favourite campgrounds. It’s where I saw my first rattlesnake and caught my first smallmouth bass. I was introduced to the South Channel in the early 1980s when my wife, Beth, invited me to her family cottage. We bought our own property in the late 90s and have made the annual trek from Alberta to Georgian Bay every year since. - Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to you? I believe that an individual’s actions are as important as government regulations for protecting Georgian Bay. We are the guardians of our property’s ecological health. Collectively, Guardi
