If I mentioned to you the “Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority”, what could you tell me about this organization?
The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) has jurisdiction over the watersheds of all streams that drain into the Thames River, from the village of Delaware to Lake St. Clair. Its southern boundary has jurisdiction over the watersheds of all streams that drain into Lake Erie, from the Talbot Creek watershed in the east to the Two Creeks watershed in the west. This area of jurisdiction covers over 3,275 square kilometres (1,264 square miles) and includes 10 member municipalities.
To find out more about what the LTVCA does, check out their website at: http://www.lowerthames-
There is a Natural Heritage Implementation Strategy (NHIS) that came out of the tree cutting issues a few years ago. The purpose of this NHIS is to identify how the Municipality of Chatham-Kent will work with all sectors of the community to maintain and enhance the natural heritage system within our municipality and manage collectively, the greater ecological goods and services that are a benefit to all members of our society. The NHIS identifies 29 recommendations for conservation improvements throughout Chatham-Kent, one being the creation of a Natural Heritage Sustainability Committee, which will be made up of individuals from many organizations and groups from our local communities.
Speaking of trees, our Greening Partnership Team, along with local farmers and landowners, planted over 47,000 tree seedlings throughout Chatham-Kent in 2015. This translates into over 73 acres of tree cover!
One of the issues facing this area the last few years has been the algae bloom in our local lakes. The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority has been working with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to address the phosphorous loading problems that are associated with the Great Lakes Region.
Colin Little has recently been hired by the LTVCA as their new “Agricultural Specialist” and will be stationed in their Chatham office. He will be working with the Greening Partnership-LTVCA staff to assist landowners with farm stewardship projects, grant applications, and will be hosting workshops to find projects which will help in reducing phosphorous run-off into Lake Erie.
Colin will be working with Randall Van Wagner, who is the Environmental Project Coordinator with LTVCA, on agricultural outreach and stewardship in the Chatham-Kent area. Colin will bring some new ideas and agriculture based projects to the region and he looks forward to developing and growing a great working relationship with those in the agricultural sector throughout Chatham-Kent.
For more information about this exciting program, you can contact Colin at 519-354-7310, ext. 231 or Colin.Little@ltvca.ca
The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority and its many partners is another great example of various organizations working together in helping to make Chatham-Kent an even better place to live.
Think about this – No matter what you hear or think or believe, the truth is this – God is not dead.
Just some food for thought.
Here in Chatham-Kent ‘WE GROW FOR THE WORLD’. Check out our community’s agricultural website atwww.wegrowfortheworld.com
Kim Cooper has been involved in the agribusiness sector for over 40 years. He can be reached at: kim.e.cooper@gmail.com
You can also follow him on twitter.com/theAGguy
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