News/Events - June 2015
26
2015
New and Updated Funding Programs for On-Farm Projects
Farmland Stewardship Fund, Kawartha Conservation
Funding is available (50-75% with individual project caps) for City of Kawartha Lakes landowners with projects demonstrating a benefit to watershed health, such as:
- nutrient and soil loss
- cropland and shoreline erosion
- manure storage runoff
- livestock access to watercourses
- farm well management
- and other projects addressing water health
Priority is given to projects within the Talbot River sub watershed, however projects with significant stewardship potential in other CKL locations will be considered.
Kawartha Conservation will be holding two info sessions to outline the details of this new program: The first at 7pm at the Kirkfield Lion’s Club on July 15th and the second at 7pm at the Fenelon Falls Arena and Community Centre on July 20th
For more info, visit the Kawartha Conservation website, or contact Becky Parker: (705) 328-2271 x 223 | bparker@kawarthaconservation.com.
2015 SARFIP Updates, OSCIA
Funding is available (40-80% up to $20,000) for the adoption of BMPs to support your farm's native wildlife habitats, wetlands, streams/ponds, forests, pastures/grasslands and more. Visit the Species At Risk Farm Incentive Program website for full program details, or contact OSCIA at: (519) 826-3035 | (226) 979-2465 | sarfip@ontariosoilcrop.org.
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Funding is available (up to 50% in priority areas) to support projects involving wildlife ponds, wetland restoration or creation, riparian buffer creation, wetland fencing, and nesting boxes. For more information, contact Jenn Lavigne: (705) 721-4444 x 245 | j_lavigne@ducks.ca.
Kawartha Farm Stewardship Collaborative
Further funding opportunties are available from partners in the KFSC. If you have on-farm projects in mind, visit kawarthafarmstewardship.org and let us know how we can help by filling out a project intake form.
12
2015
Great Looking Corn!
Check out these pics of the emerging flint corn at the The Kanienkeha:ka (Mohawk) Flint Corn Seed-Saving & Education Project!
We planted the corn with the help of generous volunteers at our field day on May 29th. These seeds, collected from Mohawk communities 25 years ago, had been in the freezer for about 20 years. Now approximately 80% of the seeds we planted have germinated and are growing strong!
Please join us at our next volunteer field day on Friday June 19th! Contact rosie@farmsatwork.ca for more information.
03
2015
Planting for Pollinators on Farms!
In 2014, farmer Peter Leahy decided to restore a wet area on his farm. Historically the area was used as pasture for grazing cattle, but he was keen to improve the site to keep his cattle out of the muck, to improve water quality on his farm, and at the same time increase habitat for waterfowl and pollinators.
So last year, Peter reached out to partners in the Kawartha Farm Stewardship Collaborative to help him achieve these goals. Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the Species at Risk Farm Incentive Program helped to fund the excavation for a shallow wildlife pond, to fence out livestock, and to install an alternate watering source for Peter's cattle.
This spring, FAW designed a planting plan that includes a range of pollinator-friendly, native plant species, from trees to shrubs and grasses. Volunteers from the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority assisted Peter and FAW staff with planting on June 1. The Peterborough County Stewardship Council contributed funding to help him with the cost of the plants.
If you're on your way up to Lakefield, watch for the site on the west side of County Rd 28. For more photos of the project, check out our Facebook page.
And if you're interested in learning more about how you can benefit native pollinators on your farm, check out our Native Pollinators pages. They're chock-full of useful information!
If you'd like to see some of our planting projects in person, on Wednesday September 2, we'll be hosting a tour of a couple project sites that we've worked on recently. We'll spend the morning touring the sites and hearing from the farmers we've worked with, and in the afternoon, we'll get our hands dirty with a planting at another farm up near Lakefield.
Send us a message for more details! info@farmsatwork.ca | (705) 743-7671.
01
2015
4,000 Seeds in a Day!
The Kanienkeha:ka (Mohawk) Flint Corn Seed-Saving & Education Project got underway with a bang last Thursday and Friday, as a quarter acre plot at the Trent Experimental Farm was prepared and planted ahead of the weekend rain.
Led by Indigenous grower Ieiérhes Karolyn Givogue Grant, FAW and TRACKS staff, along with a host of wonderful volunteers, worked hard to make it happen. By late Friday evening, forty-four traditional mounds were planted with corn, squash and beans, along with almost 4,000 corn seeds from four landraces of flint corn that were planted in rows.
Stay tuned for further updates as the plants emerge and field days continue throughout the summer. If you are interested in this project and would like to volunteer to help in the garden, please contact rosie@farmsatwork.ca.