Party Crashers - Invasive Species - are bad news for our native plants. The Frontenac Stewardship Foundation has a plan to fight these party crashers, because invasive species are having a significant impact on the County of Frontenac’s natural biodiversity. The ecological effects of invasive species are often irreversible and, once established, invasive species are extremely difficult and costly to eradicate.

On August 29, join the Invasive Species Community Seminar and learn how to combat the party crashers in your area. The Frontenac Stewardship Foundation and Queen’s University Biological Station are hosting this active learning day at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre, near Perth Road Village. The seminar is part of the Frontenac Stewardship 2015 Seminar Series. Sponsorship is generously provided by the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area.

Provincial leaders from the Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry and Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters join reps from Queen's University, Nature Conservancy of Canada and Ducks Unlimited to present current policy, research and on-the-ground practices for combating invasive species, using case studies that emphasize local threats.

Topics include: The risk of invasive species and preventing their spread; using research to guide policy and best practices; the Rapid Response Program; and

Invasive species strategy, monitoring and active control in the Frontenac Arch Natural Area.

Species of particular concern for our area include: wild parsnip, dog-strangling vine, zebra mussels, European frogbit, European buckthorn and garlic mustard. A tour of the Elbow Lake property will showcase the garlic mustard, dog-strangling vine and European buckthorn management areas. Learn how to identify local invasive plants at various stages, understand why these species are so invasive, and practise some recommended management strategies. Find out how you can help monitor the spread of invasive plants at a broader scale using Citizen Science programs.

The Invasive Species Community Seminar takes place on Saturday, August 29 from 9am to 3:30pm at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre near Perth Road Village in South Frontenac Township. All are welcome; there is no charge for admission, but space is limited, so advance registration by Friday, Aug. 21, is recommended. Overnight accommodation is available on-site for a nominal fee. To register or for more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-353-7968. Also visit www.elbowlakecentre.ca.

The Buck Lake community has passed the buck again - but not in the way one might think. The idiom “pass the buck” means to give responsibility to someone else or to evade responsibility. If you pass the buck you shift responsibility for something to someone else in order to take pressure off yourself. Synonyms for this phrase include cop out, duck, get rid of, and shirk. Lastly the word “buck” is also slang for a dollar.

Where’s this going, you ask? Well, on July 4, the Buck Lake Community demonstrated anything but a willingness to cop out or shirk its responsibilities, by sending children with physical disabilities to Easter Seals Camp Merrywood. In doing so, the Buck Lake Community gave new meaning to “passing the buck”.

For 11 consecutive years, Buck Lakers have come together to raise money for Easter Seals. “We are guilty of passing the buck,” noted Liz Graham-Trudel, event treasurer. “100% of all the bucks we raise go to sending kids and youth to camp Merrywood. As of last year, our community has raised over $135,000 and sent 64 kids to camp.”

“It was a great day for our six attending Easter Seals kids and their families,” noted Grayden McClurg, organizer and Buck Lake resident. “We set a record this year with 49 watercraft in the Boatilla and the tour of the lake provided an opportunity for our special guests to see and experience our beautiful surroundings. Our theme for this year was 'Buck Lake Boats On' and it signified our continuing support to Camp Merrywood.”

“Coming together as a community by working towards a common cause is fundamental to the Boatilla. We need an opportunity to meet our neighbours and celebrate as a community. It makes us closer and stronger and our community BBQ at the end of the Boatilla does just that,” observed longtime resident Duncan Sinclair.

The “buck passing” was completed at the end of the barbeque with a cheque presentation for $23,700 to Easter Seals representatives Krista LeClair and Jessica Kostuck, which will allow will allow the community to send 10 children to Camp Merrywood.

After all the donations were in, the final tally was an astounding $26,835!

The Buck Lake Steering Committee would like to thank our local and extended Buck Lake families for their continued and generous support to the Boatilla. Your efforts make it possible for physically challenged youth and kids to enjoy outdoor activities which we experience every day on Buck Lake. Remember that “it’s all about the kids.” 

Over 100 visitors attended the annual open house at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre (ELEEC) on May 23.

Located in South Frontenac on the picturesque shores of Elbow Lake, the centre offers a wide range of programming to individuals, local students and groups. This year's open house was extra special in that a number of recently completed projects were either unveiled or launched. The ELEEC is launching a new educational trails project which has three components: signage, infrastructure and an interpretive and interactive trials app. A new trailhead sign that was funded by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation was unveiled and board representative Jeff Clark was present at the unveiling.

The new trails app, also funded by the TD group, was launched at the event and was used during an interpretative hike that was attended by many of the visitors. The app was designed and created by 17-year-old David Lougheed, a long-time volunteer at the centre and the centre's web designer, who was also present at the event.

Participants on the hike included members of Queen's University Library and its vice provost Martha Whitehead, who were instrumental in providing aerial imagery and mapping for the app.

The hikers, invited to download the app, visited numerous trail features, including life in a wetland, and the centre's two main land and water based climate stations. They record various kinds of data which is relayed to a satellite base where researchers from Queen's University can access it. Hikers also used the app to explore white pine, cedar forests, and looked at an invasive plant called European Frogbit. They learned about Old Bird, a microphone system set up on the rooftops at the centre, designed by Bill Evans of Old Bird Inc., that monitors the calls of night migrating thrushes, warblers and sparrows.

The second focus of the open house was the unveiling of a brand new foot bridge. A special ribbon cutting ceremony took place at the bridge where Carolyn Bonta, manager of the centre, and South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vanderwal officially cut the ribbon. The bridge was funded 50% by the township of South Frontenac and 50% by Frontenac County and was built by members of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network trails crew.

The new wooden bridge is 100 feet long, four feet wide, and is equipped with both handrails and mid rails and sits about a foot and a half above the water line. Supported on cribs, it is wheelchair accessible and was designed and donated to the centre by Bert Korporaal, the assistant superintendent of Frontenac Provincial Park. The new bridge spans a section of wetland and is a key connector of the centre's looped trail system. It replaces a former planked boardwalk that was worn and unstable and unable to safely support a large group.

Inside the centre's main pavilion there was a slide show and refreshments were served to visitors. Other events included a demonstration of the centre's High School student programming in limnology, the study of the smallest animals and plants that exist in lakes. A demonstration in seine netting also took place, where participants donned chest waders and nets and caught various fish and other invertebrates that inhabit the lake and wetlands. The centre also runs an Eco-Adventure daycamp with an environmental focus for youth aged 10-14 who learn from visiting scientists, and have the opportunity to explore the centre as well as swim and canoe on site.

The center is open all year round, but visitors must make an appointment in advance. It can accommodate overnight groups, and takes bookings for groups and organizations. Appointments can be made by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 613-353-7968.

The centre has a number of upcoming public programs planned this summer: including Dispatches from the Field on June 5 and July 14, Bass Fishing for Women on July 24-26, a night of astronomy on August 12, and an invasive species series of workshops and seminars on August 29. For more information about these events visit the centre's website at elbowlakecentre.ca

Tina Bailey, Executive Director of the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area (CFKA) says the organisation, which provides grants for community organizations on a twice-annual basis, has been seeking to raise its profile outside of Kingston.

At the announcement for its latest crop of 24 grants, for a total value of $106,000, a healthy number went to organizations outside of Kingston, most of them in Frontenac County.

The list includes the largest grant given out, $12,200 to the Central Frontenac Railway Museum, which will be used to provide half the resources to construct a railway-themed play structure at Railway Park in Sharbot Lake. Slated for installation in 2016, the structure will consist of a steam engine, coal car and ramp surrounded by a safe engineered play surface.

Other grants include $4,000 to the Elbow Lake Environmental Centre (ELEC), which is located off the Perth Road, to fund an outreach assistant this coming fall. This will allow ELEC to encourage all local high schools to visit the center and experience their expanded selection of curriculum-based programs.

A related grant, for $7,000, is going to the Frontenac Stewardship Foundation. The money will be used to set up an invasive species demonstration at the ELEC. This partnership will provide the community with the tools and information to combat the growing problem of invasive species. Some of the target species in question include Purple Loosestrife, Dog Strangling Vine, Lilac, Zebra Mussels, Emerald Ash Borer and many more.

The Howe Island Garden Buds have received $2,393 for the Howe Island Community Development Project, which will be an enduring legacy on the island. The enriched environment will highlight the natural surroundings, beautify the island and develop public access to the waterfront where the Bateau Channel meets the St. Lawrence River.

Finally, the Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra received $5,425 to support an outreach exchange trip for the orchestra to the Rollo Bay Music festival in King’s County, Prince Edward Island, this July. The festival gathers renowned Celtic, Acadian, and Olde Tyme Fiddlers from across the Maritimes.

With over $31,000 of the $106,000 in grants, Frontenac County projects have been well supported this time around.

“It really helps us to promote the opportunities we offer, particular outside of Kingston, to receive such a breadth of applications from projects in Frontenac County. We certainly hope this will help us get our message out and enhance our profile in those communities,” said Tina Bailey.

The CFKA is a local, independent foundation affiliated with 191 other community foundations in Canada and worldwide, an association which now includes over 1,600 members.

“We take a broad view of community , funding projects in all areas from heritage preservation to children's mental health but we are looking to fund more projects that address identified community needs ,” said Bailey, who referred to the recent launch of a new Smart & Caring Communities Fund to further those efforts.

The foundation is always active. As soon as they were finished celebrating recipients of the spring grants at the May 14 announcement, they began preparing for the next application deadline ON September 9. They are also working towards offering some larger grants this fall, when the foundation will consider a select number of applications for between $10,000 and $25,000 for projects related to the following areas: getting started in the community, food security and community engagement..

The CFKA also produces Vital Signs, an annual report card on the health and well being of residents in Kingston, Frontenac County, Loyalist Township and Amherst Island.

Photo by Garrett Elliott  

by Carolyn Bonta

The Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre (ELEEC) will hold their 3rd annual Open House on Sunday, May 24, from 10am to 3pm. This event provides opportunity for families, educators, conservation partners, not-for-profit organizations and others to learn more about what the ELEEC offers the local community.

Several activities are planned at this free event:

• Interpretive hikes on the trails with Queen’s University Biological Station staff;

• Nature paddles on Elbow Lake with Nature Conservancy of Canada staff;

• Register young campers (aged 10-14) for summer Eco-Adventure Camp;

• Experience ELEEC educational programming for students;

• Guided facility tours;

• Sign up to attend upcoming public outreach events;

• Celebrate the Grand Opening of a new footbridge on the Red Trail, made possible by funding from the Township of South Frontenac and the County of Frontenac. Bring your phone or tablet (or borrow an iPad from ELEEC) and be among the first to try out the new Elbow Lake Interpretive Trail Guide app, generously funded by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

Other upcoming public events at the ELEEC include:

• “Secrets of Stealth & Silence”, an evening owl program on Friday, May 1, 2015.

• “Dispatches from the Field”, a night of campfire stories of the trials and tribulations of environmental field work on Friday, June 5 and Tuesday, July 14.

• Interpretive hike with the Frontenac Arch Biosphere on Saturday, June 6.

• “Bass Fishing for Women”, a jam-packed weekend of fisheries conservation with emphasis on honing bass fishing skills on July 24-26.

• “Stay Under the Shooting Stars”, a night of astronomy scheduled to coincide with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday, August 12.

For notice of programs, events and other activities taking place at the ELEEC, follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/@ElbowLakeEEC.

About the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre - The centre was established in 2011 through a partnership agreement between the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS), co-owners of the 455-ha Elbow Lake property near Perth Road Village.

As the public outreach arm of QUBS, the ELEEC’s mission is to provide outdoor programs to enhance conservation biology teachings in the community. Our public educational events and curriculum-based workshops for secondary school classes expose participants to real researchers doing real research right here at QUBS, and we do this in a very hands-on way.

The ELEEC facility – which includes meeting/kitchen space, overnight cabins, 8km of hiking trail and waterfront amenities – is also available to rent by community groups, not-for-profit organizations and educators.

For more information, please visit http://elbowlakecentre.ca.

Susan Billinghurst, owner of Litsie, a home-based eco-bag business, is a self-confessed “fabric junky” who has been sewing since she was a youngster.

“I remember making clothes for my Barbie dolls when I was a kid and later making a lot of my own clothes as a teenager” she said when I interviewed her at her home in Perth Road last week.

Serious sewing stopped for her decades ago as she raised her three sons and worked as a consumer and family studies teacher. Later she worked as the cooking school coordinator at the Midland Avenue Loblaws in Kingston.

Billinghurst returned to sewing full time two years ago after leaving her Loblaws job due to health reasons. She started up her business designing and creating a line of eco-friendly safe, re-useable snack, lunch and wet bags. Since that time her business has taken off.

The idea for the business came about after she visited her daughter-in-law, a new mom who was using cloth diapers at the time and who longed for a re-useable bag for the diapers. “I made my first 'Litsie' bag then and was encouraged by my family to keep pursuing the business idea," she said.

The name of the business came from her granddaughter Sophia, a toddler who was unable at that age to pronounce her name and called herself Litsie. Susan decided on that as the name for her business. “It could have been Sue Sews or Sue's Sacks but Litsie seemed unique; I liked it and it seemed the perfect fit”.

Her daughter-in-law also designed the Litsie logo, which includes a humming bird and Susan said is also the perfect fit.

Sue's bags come in various sizes. She uses designer fabrics in 100% cotton or organic cotton, which come in a wide range of colorful prints that are perfectly matched to a youngster's aesthetic. Her snack bags are food safe, and their interior linings are made from Procare, which is lead, BPA and phthalate-free and meet the current FDA and CPSIA requirements. Her wet bags are waterproof and lined with PUL, a polyurethane laminate perfect for storing wet swimsuits, gym clothes and cloth diapers. Their large tab zippers allow for easy opening and closing. All Litsie bags are hand sewn by Susan herself. They boast what seems to be an endless number of colourful, elegant and playful patterns that include lady bugs, elephants, birds, helicopters, alligators and more. They are sold separately as well as in sets.

Susan is a big fan of the designers Charlie Harper and Amy Butler, as well as Parson Gray and Michael Miller, the latter of whom design with older buyers in mind. A grant that Susan recently acquired through the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation in Harrowsmith allowed her to purchase a brand new Bernina Quilting Edition sewing machine, which has enabled her to add baby quilts and quilted Christmas stockings to her inventory.

A year ago and with the help of her son, Susan opened up Litsie's online Etsy store and also launched her own website where she sells her bags and other products. She also sells at a number of local craft shows and her creations are also available locally at Nicole's Gifts in Verona and Go Green Baby in Kingston.

Like most artisans, one of the challenges of running a successful business for Susan is finding enough time to actually sit down and sew. Working from home does make things easier but still she said, “Finding the time to sew is a constant challenge. At one show I sold out on the Saturday and had to rush home and sew pretty much all night long to have enough inventory for the next day.”

Some of the things she enjoys most about owning and operating her own business are shopping for fabrics and meeting her customers and other artisans both on line and in person. Her products range in price from $8 to $150. To see more of Susan's Litsie creations visit her on Etsy or at www.litsie.ca