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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On Friday April 4, in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Ontario government reduced the list of essential businesses and ordered more work closures. Marinas are now only available to help those individuals to access their primary place of residence. Therefore marinas are now officially closed to seasonal residents. Public health officials are urging Ontario residents to stay put and not to travel to their cottages because it will put additional stress on our already limited cottage country resources. The Mayor of the Township of Georgian Bay and the Reeve of the Township of The Archipelago have also followed suit releasing pleas for people to remain in their primary residences, noting that support systems in their area are limited and first responders are already stretched to
In the past week the Great Lakes basin continued to be warmer than normal for this time of year. The basin also received significantly higher than normal precipitation, with the southern portion of the basin receiving 2 to 3 times its normal amount of precipitation over the last 7 days. Water levels continue to be well above average and near or above record high levels. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 1, 3, 7, 6 & 5 inches respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 2, 15, 13, 12 & 8 inches higher respectively than they were at this time last year, and 13, 35, 35, 33 & 14 inches, respectively, above their long term April average. Lakes Michig
Water levels continue to be well above average and near or above record high levels. From a month ago the water level on Lakes Superior is down by 3 inches, and Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 2, 3, 4 & 5 inches respectively. Lakes Superior is down 1 inch from this time last year, and Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 14, 11, 12 & 9 inches higher respectively than they were at this time last year, and 12, 37, 37, 36 & 21 inches, respectively, above their long term March average. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair and Erie are 5, 2 & 4 inches higher, respectively, than their previous record highs for March. - In a month’s time, the level of Lakes Superior, Michigan Huron, St. Clair, Erie &
An approaching winter storm will impact the region this weekend with a significant amount of precipitation expected. - Water levels continue to be well above average and near record high levels. From a month ago the water level on Lakes Superior is down 1 inch, Lake Erie and St Clair are 2 inches higher and Lakes Michigan-Huron and Ontario are unchanged. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 3, 17, 9, 4 & 7 inches higher respectively than they were at this time last year, and 16, 37, 33, 28 & 16 inches, respectively above their long term March average. In a month’s time, the levels of Lakes Superior and Michigan Huron are expected to be down by 3 and 1 inches, respectively, Lake Erie is expected to be unchanged and Lakes St. Clair
An approaching winter storm will impact the region this weekend with a significant amount of precipitation expected. - Water levels continue to be well above average and near record high levels. From a month ago the water level on Lakes Superior is down 1 inch, Lake Erie and St Clair are 2 inches higher and Lakes Michigan-Huron and Ontario are unchanged. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 3, 17, 9, 4 & 7 inches higher respectively than they were at this time last year, and 16, 37, 33, 28 & 16 inches, respectively above their long term March average. In a month’s time, the levels of Lakes Superior and Michigan Huron are expected to be down by 3 and 1 inches, respectively, Lake Erie is expected to be unchanged and Lakes S
The Integrated Community Energy and Climate Action Plan (ICECAP), spearheaded by Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve (GBBR), launched in February aiming to help municipalities and First Nations on the eastern Georgian Bay coast work toward the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the local level. GBBR is working cooperatively with these communities to collect and analyze data to develop an "emissions inventory" that will be used to identify patterns, set targets for reductions, and create action plans aimed at reducing community emissions and creating energy savings. Read more about the project here. -
Water levels continue to be well above average and near or above record high levels. From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, and St Clair are all down by 3 inches, Erie is up 1 inch and Ontario is unchanged. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 1, 14, 10, 12 & 7 inches higher respectively than they were at this time last year, and 14, 35, 35, 33 & 18 inches, respectively above their long term February average. Lakes Michigan-Huron, and Erie are 3 and 2 inches higher, respectively, than their previous record highs for February. In a month’s time, the level of Lake Superior is expected to be unchanged, and Lakes Michigan Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are all expected to rise by 2 - 4 inches.
In 2019, GBA made a submission to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on the proposed Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (PPS, 2020). The Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 has now been finalized and some of the changes and exclusions in the final statement reflect GBA’s recommendations. Matters that were addressed in GBA’s submission are highlighted below. - The key changes include: - adding further references to support a changing climate and green infrastructure adding policy direction that is responsive to the recommendations of the province’s Special Advisor on Flooding. increasing the minimum requirement for housing land supply to 15 years clarifying the policies related to market-based housing by adding a reference to affordable housing
Water levels continue to be well above average and near or above record high levels. From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair and Ontario are 4, 2, 2 & 2 inches lower respectively, Lakes Erie is 1 inches higher. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 0, 15, 11, 11 & 4 inches higher respectively than they were at this time last year, and 13, 37, 40, 36 & 19 inches, respectively above their long term February average. Lakes Michigan-Huron, and Erie are 4 and 5 inches higher, respectively, than their previous record highs for February. In a month’s time, the level of Lake Superior is expected to be down by 1 inch, and Lakes Michigan Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are expected to rise by 2,
Previous Canadian IJC chair and Cognashene cottager, Gord Walker, has joined the former US Chair Lana Pollack to write the forward for the book The First Century Of The International Joint Commission. The IJC was formed only a few years before GBA in 1909. We have therefore had over 100 years of productive dialogue and liaison with this important and unique Great Lakes bi-national institution. Check out the book and read about their history here. -
Georgian Bay Forever (GBF) is hosting Energy Rights and Wrongs. Can we do more right? Yes we can, a Toronto area event on April 25, 2020 focusing on renewable energy and electric vehicles (EV). GBF Executive Director, David Sweetnam, will discuss Ontario's energy grid followed by the opportunity to have all of your EV questions answered by experts and take an EV test drive. The event will be held at the Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre in Toronto. Tickets are $20 and include refreshments and a light lunch. For more information or to register for your preferred session, click: Morning session Afternoon session
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
