Citizen scientists help protect Bay of Quinte wetlands and wildlife.
Every year, the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (BQRAP) needs volunteer citizen scientists to monitor for frogs and birds in local wetlands.
On Monday, March 5, 2018 at 7 p.m. at Quinte Conservation, naturalist and
columnist, Terry Sprague will host a presentation explaining how you can protect Bay of Quinte wetlands and
wildlife by monitoring for birds and frogs. There are two programs to choose from: the FrogWatch Ontario program, which is a family-friendly activity; and the Marsh Monitoring Program that is more structured. The Marsh Monitoring Program records wetland birds and frogs, twice for 15 minutes each, between May and July.
FrogWatch Ontario volunteers record amphibians once a week from April through June and submit their results online.
Terry adds, “The information you collect tells us about the presence and abundance of both species in coastal and inland marshes, and contributes to our understanding of these species and their habitat needs.”
This year, there is a new program focusing on monitoring for Ospreys and Eagles using Twitter on a Smartphone.
“Ospreys and Eagles are indicators of water quality health. Changes in the number of nesting pairs and number of chicks produced can reflect changes in aquatic ecosystem health”, states Terry.
Last year, the environmental challenges relating to fish and wildlife populations met all the criteria outlined in
the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan. Soon, they will be officially declared as restored by the Federal and
Provincial governments. Now, the focus must change to ensuring they don’t backslide. This is where citizen
scientists become vitally important, as the “boots on the ground” as the saying goes.
You can monitor sites at the cottage, in the backyard, or at designated monitoring locations. The information gathered will ensure the long-term protection of this area’s fish and wildlife. Terry is available to help guide each individual through the monitoring.
“These monitoring programs are all user friendly and even inexperienced volunteers will feel comfortable taking part.” states Terry. There is no cost to attend the presentation.
For additional information contact Terry Sprague at 613-848-4549 or tsprague@xplornet.com www.naturestuff.net or www.bqrap.ca
The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan is in partnership locally with Lower Trent Conservation and Quinte Conservation.
