NCC creates stream bypass in Mingay
A group of volunteers were out on the Mingay Tract last week adding vegetation to a newly created stream bank.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) recruited helpers to come out and hammer 1,500 live stakes into the streambed. The stakes, made from willow and dogwood cuttings, will root and take hold, to stop the bank from eroding.
In the days leading up to the volunteer work, a crew was in the area using heavy machinery to dredge a new 180-metre stream channel, which will eventually be used to divert water away from a man-made pond.
The pond was created when previous owners of the property dammed a stream, but the water quality in the pond is poor.
NCC program director Kristyn Ferguson said the pond water tends to be too warm and is a breeding ground for toxic algae.
The water then overflows into the existing waterways and flows downstream.
The water won’t be diverted from the pond until next fall, once the new stream bank is stabilized.
The work was being done along the north end of the property, a popular hiking spot, and has since been reopened to the public.
The 203-acre property was donated to the NCC in 1996 by Don and Mary Mingay.
Prior to the property being purchased by the Mingays in 1963, portions of the property were used for potato farming. The Mingays reforested a large portion of the site in 1964 with red pine, Scotch pine and white spruce to prevent soil erosion.
Known as the Creemore Nature Preserve, the area is cared for by members of the community.
“The Mingay is a cherished place for so many of us who live in the Creemore area. A place to walk under a closed canopy, to trail run, to cross-country ski, and a place to share with our children. This nature reserve truly demonstrates the need and the great value of having natural places close to home and accessible to those who seek them,” said NCC director of national conservation engagement Erica Thompson, a Creemore resident.
NCC is Canada’s leading national land conservation organization. A private, non-profit organization, it partners with individuals, corporations, other non-profit organizations and governments at all levels to protect natural areas.
Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to conserve more than 2.7 million acres of ecologically significant land in Canada.
For more information about restoration efforts underway at the Creemore Nature Preserve and volunteer opportunities please contact Dana Kleniewski at 1-800-465-0029 ext. 2246.
Visit www.natureconservancy.ca.
