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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Researchers have discovered a new chemical compound that makes it difficult for invasive sea lamprey to find their breeding grounds. Petromyzonol tetrasolfate, or 3sPZS as it is known, is similar to a natural pheromone that male sea lampreys release in rivers and streams before breeding. The natural pheromone attracts females ready to breed to the males’ nests, but when 3sPZS is released into a river system, females can’t find the nests and are unable to breed. Initial tests are promising. 3sPZS naturally break down in the water and due to its similarity to the naturally occurring pheromone, it only influences the invasive sea lamprey. Current strategies for controlling sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes include barriers and the application of a lampricide known as TFM whic
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year (just) – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario, are down 4, 3, 7, 4 & 5 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron & St Clair are lower by 8, 2 & 1 inches, respectively, and Lakes Erie & Ontario are up 1 & 0 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair & Erie are 5, 5 & 9 inches, respectively, above their long-term November average, and Lakes Superior & Ontario are 0 & 4 inches below, respectively. All the lakes remain well below their November record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior,
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year (just) – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are down 3, 2, 2, 2 & 6 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior & Michigan-Huron are lower by 6 & 2 inches, respectively, and Lakes St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 3, 2 & 2 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair & Erie are 3, 10 & 10 inches, respectively, above their long-term November average, and Lakes Superior & Ontario are 2 & 3 inches below, respectively. All the lakes remain well below their November record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, M
Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations (VORRs) allow any level of government to ask Transport Canada (TC) to restrict the use of either pleasure craft or commercial vessels on bodies of water in Canada to promote safety, protect the environment or look out for the public interest. Such restrictions may include: prohibiting boats limiting engine power or type of propulsion imposing speed limits restricting towing on any sporting or recreational equipment including wake surfing prohibiting a sporting, recreational or public event or activity The current application process is slow and the restrictions do not cover all of the issues on local waterways. TC knows the process needs to be simplified and the time it takes to implement restrictions needs to be shorter. The
Wildlife scientists are hoping they can turn invasive carp into traitors to slow their Great Lakes push. Over the last five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have employed a new strategy that uses turncoat carp to lead them to the fish's hotspot hideouts. Invasive carp are captured, implanted with transmitters and then released. Because carp often school in spring and fall, agency workers use the tagged fish to locate schools, monitor their movement and then drop nets to remove the fish from the ecosystem. From the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities to the Iowa-Missouri border real-time tracking of the tagged fish has helped wildlife managers and anglers as much as double the poundage of invasive carp pulled from that area of river. Four d
At the 2020 Water Levels Symposium hosted jointly by GBA and Georgian Bay Forever (GBF) we asked the International Joint Commission (IJC) to improve the harmonization of published data emanating out of the US and Canada regarding water issues in the Great Lakes. We are pleased to report that the IJC has made significant progress on this and the results are described in the “Transboundary Hydrographic Data Harmonization” section of their watersheds report that has just been publicized. - Read the report here. -
We are all connected to water and have a shared responsibility to take action to restore and protect the Great Lakes. This is the essence of the Biinaagami initiative. Biinaagami, which means pure, clean water in Anishinaabemowin, is a multimedia, change-provoking initiative rooted in Indigenous knowledge that aims to rebuild healthy relationships between wildlife, people and places in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed. This initiative is led by champions of water including a former Grand Chief, Indigenous education advocates, Waterkeepers, Riverkeepers and Anishinaabek and Haundenosaunee Elders and Knowledge Keepers along with Canadian Geographic and Swim Drink Fish. GBA attended the launch event and the Great Lakes Ecoregion Network (GLEN), the organization GBA played a ke
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year (just) – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario, are down 3, 1, 6, 4 & 6 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior & Michigan-Huron are lower by 6 & 1 inch, respectively, and Lakes St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 3, 3 & 2 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair & Erie are 4, 9 & 10 inches, respectively, above their long-term November average, and Lakes Superior & Ontario are 1 & 2 inches below, respectively. All the lakes remain well below their November record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Mi
The West Carling Association was awarded $4,029 from the Green Shovels Collaborative’s Invasive Phragmites Control Fund to combat the invasive phragmites in their area. Their project, Survey, Control and Monitor of Invasive Phragmites in Carling Township Coastal Areas, is an ongoing, collaborative project to complete surveys of the Carling Township coastline, which is estimated to be 220 kilometres long. This project will establish a baseline of the presence of coastal phragmites and become the basis of ongoing monitoring and management of infested sites in the community. This project joins 20 others from across Ontario supported through the Invasive Phragmites Control Fund, a granting program made possible by an expanded investment of $250,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Natura
Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is observed every year on the first Saturday in May. Communities are encouraged to host events and work on projects that raise awareness of wildfire risk and develop strategies to increase resilience to it. Groups can apply for a $500 award to fund your Wildfire Community Preparedness event or project that can take place any time between May and October 2024. FireSmart Canada in collaboration with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), and The Co-operators are supporting this annual event by offering the $500 award. In 2023, 230 community groups in 10 provinces and two territories received an award Neighbourhoods, community associations, fire departments, Indigenous communities, as we
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year (just) – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario, are down 5, 2, 1, 2 & 7 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior & Michigan-Huron are lower by 6 & 2 inches, respectively, and Lakes St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 2, 4 & 6 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 5, 12, 13 & 0 inches, respectively, above their long-term November average, and Lake Superior is 1 inch below. All the lakes remain well below their November record highs. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Cl
Daylight Saving Time ended on Sunday and there were probably still a few clocks to manually change but did you remember to put fresh batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors? It’s the law for all Ontario homes, cottages, cabins and seasonal homes to have working smoke alarms on every storey and outside all sleeping areas. You must also have a working carbon monoxide alarm adjacent to each sleeping area if you have a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. Follow this simple schedule to keep your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in peak shape: Every month (or every time you go to the cottage): Do a quick test of the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors using the test button to ensure they are working properly Every six
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
