Conservation Authorities’ Nature-Based Climate Solutions Key to a Resilient Future

The world is facing the effects of a changing climate, and it's more important than ever to find solutions that not only mitigate the impacts but also improve the health of our environment.

Nature-based climate solutions provide a path forward by using the power of the natural world to create a more resilient future. Conservation Authorities (CAs) play a crucial role in this process. The future-thinking defenders of environmental stewardship, CAs are the boots on the ground doing incredible work to restore and protect our natural ecosystems. They work in partnership with communities, businesses, urban and rural landowners, and municipalities to deliver a wide range of services that focus on watershed management and the restoration of ecosystems.

The benefits of the work that CAs do are numerous. From tree planting to water quality improvement and agricultural and environmental practices, CAs support various benefits, including drinking water, flood risk reduction, soil health, climate resilience, biodiversity, quality of life, and support for a thriving economy. Conservation Ontario (CO), the umbrella organization for Ontario’s CA’s, is working to promote these benefits through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund (NSCSF).

NSCSF is a partnership between CO and Environment and Climate Change Canada that provides funding for place-based actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve Canada’s wildlife and habitats. CO is currently working with 18 CAs to deliver 64 projects from 2021 to 2024, all of which will provide long-term benefits through the use of naturebased solutions.

Nature-based solutions are actions that conserve, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems. These actions help to store and capture carbon, mitigate the impacts of climate change, improve water quality, and provide critical habitats for Canada’s wildlife.

NSCSF supports projects that restore grasslands, wetlands, and riparian areas, improve land management practices, and acquire lands for conservation purposes.

The Raisin Region Conservation Authority is working on the Cooper Marsh Biodiversity Project, an NSCSF-supported initiative to protect and enhance the 663acre wetland in South Glengarry, Ontario. This involves controlling invasive species, restoring grassland habitats, seeding native plant species, and creating additional ponds and channels. The project also engages the local community through educational workshops and citizen science initiatives, while monitoring and enhancing nesting structures and developing a long-term management plan for the Marsh.

In another project supported by the fund, the Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) has restored the Monora Park Pond. Monora Creek was dammed in 1965 for recreation, but the dam disrupted natural processes, prevented fish populations from connecting, and caused sediment accumulation.

Thanks to CVC, the pond was removed in May 2022, allowing for vegetation to be planted and habitat to be restored in Monora Creek and surrounding wetlands.

The results of these projects and many others are already impressive. To date, 1,686 hectares have received enhanced land management practices, 95 hectares have been restored, 175 hectares have been secured for conservation, and four new properties have been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for screening under the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database.

Nature-based climate solutions offer a path forward for mitigating the impacts of a changing climate while also improving the health of our environment. CAs play a crucial role in this process, and the NSCSF supports the delivery of place-based actions that promote a resilient future. With your support and collaboration, we can do more and achieve even greater results.

Contact your local Conservation Authority to learn how you can help build a stronger future. Visit conservationontario.ca to view a Story Map detailing Conservation Authority Projects.

Facing Kidney Disease Together: The Importance of Community and Connection

Larry thought he was in good health. Then, his whole life changed on a Friday night about eight years ago. His doctor had run some medical tests, and the results showed his kidney function was just over 10 per cent. The news came as a shock.

“I had no idea my kidneys were failing,” Larry recalled. “I didn’t have any major symptoms. I was running around doing things and then I get a phone call that turned everything around.”

Larry began hemodialysis sessions in hospital about a month later, and then switched to home peritoneal dialysis. The sudden transition from feeling healthy to being hooked up to machines was challenging.

“There was so much to adapt to in so little time,” his wife Francine remembered. “There was so much to learn, and we were feeling quite overwhelmed. It was a lot to take in.”

In 2017, when Larry’s doctors suggested a kidney transplant, Francine did not hesitate. Two weeks before Christmas, they learned they were a match. Larry was concerned at first, worried about his wife’s health, but the surgery was a success.

Now the couple, who have both recovered from surgery, is giving back. They are volunteers with The Kidney Foundation’s peer support program. “I love encouraging others, lifting them up and giving them hope. I want them to know they can do this with a supportive community around them,” Francine said.

For Larry, it is an opportunity to share his experiences and help others living through similar situations and challenges.

“Everyone is different. I listen very carefully to what others in the group are going through, and I share what is going on with me,” he said. “I believe we are all part of a community, and I want to reach out and help others. If I can help just one other person, then it is worthwhile.”

One in 10 Canadians has kidney disease, but many don’t know it because the signs and symptoms are often silent.

Kidneys are mighty organs that have an essential role to play in the body. Kidneys regulate water, help to balance the body’s minerals, remove waste products, and produce hormones, making them a critical part of your overall health.

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness like kidney disease is life-changing and can happen with little or no warning. Although its signs and symptoms are often silent until people are in kidney failure, kidney disease can be delayed or prevented. The Kidney Foundation of Canada has a risk awareness quiz to help determine your level of risk. Learn more at www.kidney.ca/risk.

The Kidney Foundation makes sure people with kidney disease are never alone.

As a reliable and trustworthy resource for people with kidney disease and their families, The Kidney Foundation provides high-quality, reliable information and programs like peer support to help people understand and navigate their journey with kidney disease.

The Kidney Foundation stands behind those affected by kidney disease, championing systemic changes, increasing public awareness of kidney health and organ donation, and alleviating the burden of kidney disease.

Make Your Mark this Kidney Health Month. Share your connection to kidney disease to help raise awareness. Your gift today will help support vital programs and services. Visit kidneyontario.ca

Enough is Enough: Ontario Federation of Labour Launches Campaign to Tackle Cost-of-Living Crisis

Across the province, people like you are feeling the squeeze at the grocery store, the gas station, and as they make their rent or mortgage payments. While wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, corporate profits are soaring. We deserve better, and together, we can win better.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) has launched a new campaign to address the cost-of-living crisis that is affecting the people of Ontario. This crisis, characterized by skyrocketing inflation, suppressed wages, and a failing public healthcare system, is affecting the lives of millions of Ontarians. The OFL’s campaign brings together people from all walks of life to demand real change, put an end to this crisis, and say, “Enough is Enough.”

The Enough is Enough campaign has five key demands that, if met, will go a long way in improving the lives of Ontarians. These demands include real wage increases, keeping schools and healthcare public, affordable groceries, gas, and essential goods, rent control and affordable housing, and making the banks and corporations pay their fair share.

Each demand comes with a set of actionable steps that need to be taken in order to achieve it. For example, the demand for actual wage increases calls for a $20 minimum wage, the permanent repeal of wage restraint legislation, and an increase in the rates of the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works.

The demand for affordable gas, groceries, and basic goods includes calls for price caps on necessities in an effort to stop price gouging. We should not have to struggle to afford the basic goods we need to survive.

Everyone deserves a place to live, so the demand for rent control and affordable housing includes a call for a province-wide public housing program that builds decent homes in every community, produced in a sustainable manner.

The OFL has also introduced a six-month roadmap for the campaign, which includes a pledge, community meetings, and local actions that will lead up to a mass mobilization on June 3. The OFL intends to fight for these demands through a series of escalating actions.

During the campaign launch, the speakers were open about the topic of a province-wide general strike and talked about the steps and widespread support required to make it happen. OFL President Patty Coates emphasized that the campaign provides a structure for helping people from all across Ontario join the fight.

“We know that Ontarians are fed up and want action now,” said Coates. “This campaign provides a framework to do the hard work of getting organized in every part of the province. That starts with one-on-one conversations with co-workers, neighbours, family, and friends. That will lay the groundwork for a major escalation to ensure that we cannot be ignored.”

For far too long, working people have paid the price for crises we didn’t create. The OFL’s Enough is Enough campaign demands change so that the people of Ontario can live better lives. Now is the time for us to come together to fight for our futures, because we deserve better. If we work together, we can end the cost-of-living crisis.

Sign up today and join the fight at WeSayEnough.ca