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July 29th, 2010
CKL Flora
The CKL (City of Kawartha Lakes) FLORA PROJECT is an initiative by the Kawartha Field Naturalists to document the plants that grow, or have been known to grow, in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Our goal is to publish the results as an annotated list and, eventually, a Plant-finder's Guide to the City of Kawartha Lakes.
WHY?
The data collected will form a base of information about the plants in each of the former townships of Victoria County.
This baseline study will make it possible to measure possible changes in the local plant communities as a result of pressures such as introduced species, climate change and population growth.
Very little plant study has been done in CKL; records that are out there are scattered; very few plant specimens have been collected from our city.
The survey work will be supplemented by the collection and pressing of plant specimens to be housed at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) where they will be available for study by the scientific community worldwide.
WHO?
The volunteer Committee overseeing the project includes KFN members: Don Smith, Lloyd Leadbeater, Dale Leadbeater, Dale Jackson, Linda Howes and Anne Barbour, in addition to Paul Nichol (Ecosystems) and an advisor from Sir Sandford Fleming College. Mike Oldham, Ministry of Natural Resources, and Deb Metsger, Royal Ontario Museum are acting as technical advisors. Several other KFN members have participated in the preliminary survey work in 2008. These volunteers will continue with the survey and collecting/pressing work. More volunteers are welcome - see below.
SUPPORT
The Victoria Land & Water Stewardship Council is supporting this community project that will enhance stewardship of the City of Kawartha Lakes landscape and provide a base of information to build on in the future. Another partner is Sir Sandford Fleming College, with whom CKL Flora is working through their Credit-for-Product program. The Royal Ontario Museum Herbarium is also providing various means of support. Paul Nichol, Ecosystems, will be setting up our database. Coyle Packaging, Peterborough, donated scrap cardboard that provided 255 pieces for our plant presses.
HOW?
We will:
survey publicly accessible areas.
survey private property where owners have given permission for entry onto their lands. The surveys will concentrate on a balance of habitats in each of the former townships.
compile any existing lists of plants that have been identified in Provincial Parks, Conservation Areas and Nature Reserves; also botanical records of CKL from individual botanists.
maintain contact with Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) office.
maintain contact with the Herbarium at the ROM, following their direction as to specimen collection. Quality rather than quantity will be emphasized for the voucher samples.
search the ROM and other herbariums for voucher specimens of plants already collected from Victoria County, Ontario, Canada.
liaise with Sir Sanford Fleming in a program to promote student participation in the project (research, mapping, documentation, database maintenance and field investigations.)
WHEN?
The initial phase is a 5-year project, ending in 2014, aimed at publishing the research to date. It is anticipated that the database will be maintained and updated indefinitely to provide the necessary baseline of information to track changes in plant biodiversity in the City of Kawartha Lakes.
PARTICIPATION REQUESTED
1. PROPERTIES:
Anyone with property in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada (former Victoria County) who would like their property surveyed for its plant life is welcome to contact us for consideration. Please provide address location, approximate acreage, habitat included (forest, wetland, agricultural, etc) and owner contact information.
Stewardship starts with knowing what resources are growing on the land, and what special relationships they may have to the geology, soils and climate of the area. Landowners who have given permission to have their land surveyed will be provided with a list of the plants recorded and/or collected, and plants of conservation concern growing on their properties will be highlighted. Note: There are not many "species at risk" in CKL. If located, the landowner has the option of informing the MNR who would appreciate having the record in order to better understand the distribution of the species. The Provincial Policy Statement and the Endangered Species Act provide varying levels of protection to "species at risk" as defined by the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO). To view the Ontario government's Species at Risk page, click here.
2. VOLUNTEERS:
Anyone wishing to participate in the survey and collection work is welcome to contact us. Botanical experience is beneficial but not required. An Inventory Record can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.
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