The Greening of Bruce County is picking up steam with this year’s Evergreens for Streams campaign.
The Bruce County Stewardship Network in partnership with the Community Foundation Grey Bruce is working on the rehabilitation of watercourses in rural lands and improving forest management.
Stewardship Co-ordinator Craig Todd says for every 15 dollars donated, 10 evergreen seedlings will be planted along a Bruce County stream that has been deforested by farming.
He says the planting will provide shade that will cool the water — creating a better habitat for fish — and to also prevent silt and other run off from entering the stream.
Todd says over the past three years they have spent close to 60 thousand dollars planting trees and fencing off cattle to protect in the Pearl and Deer Creek area around Elmwood area and down into the Saugeen region.
Todd says local land owners are very cooperative.
In fact — while the Stewardship network provides the trees and fencing, Todd says the landowners do the planting and setting up of the barriers.
Todd says their program enhances local water source protection efforts and they work hand in hand with the Saugeen Conservation authority towards that end.
Roberta Brignell from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce says the Evergreens for Streams fund is managed under their umbrella and donations must be made out to the Foundation.
She says this is one way the Foundation is getting environmental programs out into the public view.