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EESTI ELU reedel, 16. aprillil 2021 — Friday, April 16, 2021
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Chasing Estonia’s “fifth season” in Ontario’s Minesing Wetlands Vincent Teetsov Estonians in Pärnu County and Viljandi County are well aware of the viies aastaaeg, or “fifth season” that happens in their region of Estonia, but it’s only more recently that it’s started to receive attention from international media. This visibility grew in March 2021, when the BBC shared a travel piece by Mike Mac Eacheran about Soomaa National Park. The national park, established in 1993, is a 390 square kilometre area of forests, mea dows, and bogs that straddle Pärnu and Viljandi counties. Each year, as winter melts into spring, water runoff from adjacent hills floods the rivers of the national park, bringing water levels up to five and a half metres high. As MacEacheran describes, after the last Ice Age, “Retreating glaciers left behind a great depression characterised by sedimental mires, and nowadays Soomaa remains Europe’s largest intact peat bog system – essentially a humongous natural sponge.” The yearly saturation of this “sponge” has facilitated a local industry with guides who take visitors on canoe tours through the seasonal networks of icy water, submerged pastoral scenes, and bare trees poking out in between. Snow melt and bursting riverbanks are nothing new to Canadians, but for some places in Canada, flooding is a life
Global Estonian Report: April 14–21 ERR News, April 2021 Between 165,000 and 200,000 Estonians are estimated to live outside the country right now, making around 15–20 percent of the total number of Estonians. With many communities being found worldwide, both in English-speaking countries and beyond, ERR News, in conjunction with the Integration Found ation (Integratsiooni Sihta su tus), has launched a weekly Global Estonian Report, which will give a weekly window into Estonian communities and culture from around the globe. Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds first virtual forum for global Estonians On 13 April, the very first virtual forum for Estonians around the world was held, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented its activities and plans concerning the diaspora and how about how global Estonians can participate in Estonia’s development The virtual forum for global Estonians was a continuation of the survey conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among the diaspora last year
source rather than a menacing cause of property damage; just like Estonia’s “fifth season” has become an event that locals embrace, at least in recent years. Where might we find a place like this in our local area, with similarities to Soomaa National Park? There are some technical differences, but you can witness an ecosystem like it just twenty minutes west of Barrie, Ontario, in Minesing Wetlands. Flowing into the wetlands are a collection of rivers and creeks, including the Nottawasaga River, Mad River, Willow Creek, and Bear Creek. The rivers themselves flow over sedimentary rock that was formed by marine life, living in what was then warm water, during the Devonian Period around 400 million years ago. Glacial activity then scraped that rock. The glacial ice melted, and over many thousands of years, the water levels fluctuated repeatedly. When water levels in the wetlands were at one of their higher points, there was an island. This is where the name Minesing comes from, as it means “island” in Ojibwe. With a size of 60 square kilometres, Minesing Wetlands is quite a bit smaller than Soomaa National Park, but it’s packed full of animal and plant life that are sustained by the wetland environment. Thousands of migratory waterfowl pass through here each year, making the most of spring flooding. The available habitat space means that even black bear
and is the next step in strengthen ing co-operation between Estonia and Estonians living abroad. “There are nearly 200 000 people of Estonian origin across the world and they all should feel they matter to their native land and that they have a chance to contribute to Estonia’s development,” Foreign Minister EvaMaria Liimets said. Estonian World Council to hold Estonian foreign policy virtual forum for global Estonians The Estonian World Council (ÜEKN) is hosting a virtual global Estonian foreign policy forum on April 24. The forum will provide an overview of current important foreign policy issues and ideas about how Estonians around the world can participate in advocacy efforts to advance Estonia’s interests abroad. This follows the virtual forum recently held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Estonian World Council represents central Estonian organizations from 12 countries around the world. Estonian and Russian foreign ministers talk for first time in five years Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets and
Photo: Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority
sightings have been known to happen. You’ll hear the songs of miniature warbling songbirds with vibrant yellow feathers. The area is also significant in Ontario for its heron population. Bring some binoculars, so you can look out for birds in the trees and among the vegetation. North of the town of Angus, you can see these birds on the 12 foot tall wooden Minesing Waterfowl Tower, at the corner of Concession Road 2 and McKinnon Road. You’ll be looking across a place which, as explained by the Minesing Community Association, is “one of the most diverse un disturbed wetland tracts in Canada.” These qualities all contributed to this area becoming a designated wetland in 1996. One difference between Minesing Wetlands and Soomaa N.P. is that the former contains several different types of wetlands: fens, swamps, marshes, and bogs. A fen is a nutrient rich, alkaline wetland that’s fed with groundwater from under the water table. Marshes are wetlands with grassy plant life.
Swamps have trees and shrubs. Bogs – what you’ll find in Sooma National Park – have a high peat content, less nutrients, and are more acidic. You can find all four of these wetland types in Minesing Wetlands. However, on the surface, there’s quite a lot in common when it comes to the eerie, magical scene you’ll be surrounded by; and in terms of what you can do in these places. For instance, they’re both great destinations for kayaking and canoeing. On the Notta wasaga River that goes through Minesing Wetlands, one can paddle from Alliston to Wasaga beach on Georgian Bay. Some places you can access for boating are by the Waterfowl Tower or in the town of Angus. In normal times, excursions are operated by the Friends of Minesing Wetlands. There’s snowshoeing in winter and paddling in the spring. A 10 minute drive on the highway from Angus is the Tiffin Centre for Conservation, where you can park your car, play nine holes of frisbee golf, traverse 17 kilometres of trails, go for a maple syrup tour, and
then get some locally made syrup on the way out. Upon securing a Notta wa saga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) fishing permit, you can fish for rainbow trout, northern pike, and carp – among other varieties – from one of the allowed river access points. For any of these activities, the NVCA website has informational highlights and a PDF map of the area (https://tinyurl. com/598ey8bk), showing where you can swim, launch a boat, and more. The site also has a list of safety points to keep in mind, and recommendations of equipment to bring along, whether you’re out and about on the water or on the trail. Just like in Soomaa N.P., conditions can vary greatly from season to season. Once you’re at any of the NVCA conservation areas, parking for the whole day costs 10 dollars per vehicle, which is used to finance the upkeep of the conservation areas. Perhaps it’s a surprise, but a destination that’s submerged underwater can offer a multitude of options for a family outing on a nice day.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov discussed regional issues, border ratification and Ukraine during a phone call on April 9. The last meeting of the foreign ministers of Estonia and Russia was held in 2015, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
collection of digital memories will last until May 10, 2021.
charge, it is offered to Esto nians around the world in co operation with the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Estonia. (event in Estonian)
Members of Parliament form a global Estonian support group The aim of the new support group formed in the Estonian parliament (Riigikogu) is to network the world’s Estonian community and involve world Estonians in order to help Estonian companies find new foreign markets and connect all Estonian communities in the world to a digitally unified global network. The Riigikogu’s global Estonian support group currently has 17 members. Tallinn Song Festival Grounds collecting materials about the singing revolution This summer, Estonia celebrates its thirtieth anniversary of regaining independence. The Song Festival Grounds, where the most important and sym bolic events of the Singing Revolution took place in 1987 and 1988, is preparing an exhibition and collecting digital materials about the subject. The
Practise Estonian online with native speakers in the Language Friends Program The Integration Foundation (Integratsiooni Sihtasutus) is offering Estonian language learners the opportunity to practice communication by chatting with volunteer Estonian language mentors. The initiative falls in the foundation’s Keele sõber (Language Friends) program, and takes place via e-channels. Virtual conversations: Language Roulette (April 20, online) Language Roulette is a series of virtual meetings co-organized by teachers and mentors of the Estonian language houses of the Integration Foundation, which brings together people who want to practice Estonian in a new format of short conversations in the Zoom environment. Teaching Estonian children and young people abroad (April 21, online) The Estonian Institute is organizing its second training in the series “Teaching Estonian children and young people abroad” in the Zoom environment. The training is free of
Estonian Foreign Policy Virtual Forum for Global Estonians (April 24, online) The Estonian World Council, the Global Estonian NGO and the Estonian World Youth Network will host a virtual global Estonian foreign policy forum on Saturday April 24, 7 pm (Estonian time). The forum will provide an overview of current important foreign policy issues and ideas about how Estonians around the world can participate in advocacy efforts to advance Estonia’s interests abroad. What is Global Estonian? Global Estonian is an online portal, in Estonian and English, and network for Estonians and friends of Estonians around the world. Managed by the Integration Foundation, Global Estonian brings together news, events, culture, organizations, support programs, learning opportu nities, and a wealth of other information from Estonian communities abroad, all in one central gateway.
