By Lorraine Julien

My neighbours had a visit recently from a large Snapping Turtle. The turtle laid her eggs on a septic bed where the ground was nice and sandy and good for digging. Snappers have very few natural enemies but their eggs seldom hatch before being eaten by raccoons, foxes, skunks and even opossums. Usually 40 to 50 eggs are laid in a sunny location where they hatch in the fall. The incubation temperature determines the gender of the hatchlings. A lot of turtle eggs did not hatch last year probably due to the cool rainy weather.

If it rains shortly after the eggs are laid, or if water is generously sprinkled on the site, the eggs may stand a chance of hatching. Raccoons and other predators can easily smell fresh laid eggs and will destroy the nest and eat all the eggs – water will reduce the enticing odour, though.

Although we have a property nearby, we have seen mostly Painted turtles with only the occasional visit in our bay from a Snapper. Turtles especially love shallow bays with soft sandy or muddy bottoms. They plow along the lake bottom and push mud aside to create little channels that small animals, like frogs, small reptiles, fish and even muskrats will use to go about their daily lives. They’re also like little garbage disposals. They’ll eat dead animals, fish, weeds or almost anything else that is rotting. They clean up the environment because they’re omnivores. Since they clean up all the garbage, they also take in many toxins and, for this reason, they are not safe for human consumption.

The Snapping turtle is Ontario’s most prehistoric looking turtle species. In a safe, natural environment, wild Snappers can live well past 100. In Ontario, females do not begin to breed until they are 17 to 19 years old. Even in Algonquin Park, where turtle hunting is prohibited, the chance of survival from egg to maturity is 0.07 per cent based on research. That means that for every 10,000 eggs laid, only 7 babies survive to adulthood. They’ve been around for about 90 million years so you’d wonder how they have survived. Of course, there weren’t heavily travelled roads for most of those millions of years and, once the Snappers reach maturity, they have very few natural enemies.

There is a real fallacy about Snapping turtles and that is they may bite you when you are swimming. This is not true. Unlike most other Ontario turtles, the Snapping turtle has a very small plastron (hard undershell) and cannot withdraw into its shell for protection when threatened. Therefore, on land this turtle’s only defence from predators is to snap repeatedly and scare them away. In water, the Snapping turtle rarely snaps at people or other potential threats and will simply swim away if threatened. They’re not very good swimmers and prefer instead to walk on the lake bottom. On a sunny day, when the light angle is right, it’s easy to spot them from a kayak or canoe.

The Snapping turtle is currently listed as Special Concern under the Ontario Endangered Species Act, 2007 and Special Concern under the Federal Species at Risk Act. The species has also been designated as a Specially Protected Reptile under the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. There are other acts that are in place to supposedly protect this reptile but, unfortunately, hunting is still allowed in Ontario (2 Snapping turtles per day per person!) Organizations have strongly urged the Ontario government to remove the Snapping turtle from the list of game species in Ontario but so far they’ve been ignored. You can help by signing a petition - one website I encountered is: action.davidsuzuki.org/snappers

In 2012, as reported in the Toronto Star, York Regional police stopped a car travelling the back roads northeast of Toronto. Police suspected they’d uncovered a stash of marijuana as the car was filled with damp tote boxes. What a surprise when the officers heard “ribbit, ribbit” from one box and a turtle poked its head out from another box! Police had unknowingly uncovered a wildlife heist. The poachers had plundered the Lake Scugog area and had 10 live Snapping turtles, 123 bullfrogs and 2 Midland painted turtles – animals likely destined for restaurants or the underground exotic pet industry.

Then there are the road hazards. However, please remember that when driving in traffic it is very dangerous to stop to try to help these creatures. Readers are strongly reminded never to create any kind of a traffic hazard in their efforts to save turtles.

Some conservationists fear these slow-moving, ever-chomping creatures from the dinosaur age may be on a path to extinction. It is the oldest Snapping turtles that are the long-term breeders but, unfortunately, those are the ones that are popular with legal and illegal harvesters because of their large size. If these animals continue to be hunted, the path to extinction will sadly be much quicker.

From the point of view of green energy, the election of the provincial Liberals is a good thing as a Conservative victory would have meant the end of the green energy program. However, election of the Liberals does not automatically mean that we will be getting our electricity from renewable sources. Almost 60% of our electricity comes from nuclear reactors and if we want the majority of it to come from renewable sources we have to make sure that our nuclear reactors are phased out and not refurbished or new ones built. Unfortunately, there are powerful political and economic interests which want to keep the nuclear program going. If we want to get our energy from clean renewable sources which will be cheaper than new nuclear, we have to put pressure on the new Liberal government to phase out our old nuclear reactors. Unless we can do that, the Liberals will follow their long term energy plan and have most of our electricity will come from nuclear reactors and renewable sources will be relegated to a minor role.

We have to improve the Green Energy Act so that local municipalities and communities benefit financially from producing renewable energy. Having local communities receive financial benefits should make them more receptive to renewable energy projects in their communities.

Wolfe Erlichman

Wintergreen Studios, the eco-lodge/educational retreat on Canoe Lake Road near Godfrey, birthed a new and separate business in November 2012. The Wintergreen Renewable Energy Co-op was founded following a community energy retreat that was held at the lodge that summer. The idea to form the co-op came about in June 2012 and its mission, according to its president and founding director David Hahn, is to “promote and develop renewable energy projects in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington region; offer investment opportunities; and educate people about the value of renewable energy.”

Those and other topics were the focus of this year’s Community Energy Retreat, which took place at Wintergreen on June 13. Members of the co-op and their partner, SolarShare, were on hand to discuss their recent partnership.

Since its founding, the Wintergreen Renewable Energy Co-op had engaged TREC (the project incubator of SolarShare) to do work for the co-op on a contractual basis. The work included evaluating one of the co-op’s potential projects and acting as their back office once members of the co-op began investing. Hahn said that once the co-op began focusing on three potential large scale solar projects in the Kingston area and after speaking with an EPC (an engineering procurement and construction company) about the projects, it became clear that the co-op “needed certainty about our being able to raise the funds to a level of security required by the EPC to purchase the potential project(s).”

It was then that that the co-op entered into a partnership with SolarShare, who was able to provide the additional financial security that the EPC required. “At that point we realized that we could not give them [the EPC] the certainty that we would be able to buy the project if they developed it, so we started talking to SolarShare and have since developed an agreement with them,” Hahn said.

SolarShare is currently the largest renewable energy co-op in Canada and develops commercial-scale solar electricity installations, offering investors the opportunity to “invest ethically and with impact, with 100% of the invested funds directly financing solar projects and helping to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.” The non-profit co-op offers investors Solar Bonds, which pay a fixed 5% annual return on a minimum investment of $1,000 for a 5-year term. The co-op, which to date has developed 23 solar projects in Ontario totaling 1.2 MW of capacity, generates revenue by selling the electricity they produce. The bonds are backed by 20-year power purchase agreements with the Ontario Power Authority.

Under the new partnership, Wintergreen and SolarShare will continue to explore projects to develop in the Kingston area. Wintergreen will also encourage their own members to invest in Solar Bonds and SolarShare will pay a fee directly back to Wintergreen Co-op to cover the costs of operations.

The partnership was discussed at length at the June 13 retreat with presentations by David Hahn, by SolarShare president Mike Brigham, and by Julie Leach, the company's community investment and marketing manager. There were also keynote presentations by Kristina Inrig of the Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario, who also spoke on sustainable investing, and Paul McKay, who spoke about renewable energy developments. Following lunch was a workshop on SolarShare's Solar Bonds.

For investors wanting to go green, with a fixed 5% annual return, the Wintergreen Renewable Energy Co-op and Solar Bonds seem well worth looking into. For more information visit www.wintergreencoop.com.

by Valerie Allan

North Addington Education Centre has been certified as an Ontario EcoSchool for the sixth year in a row. NAEC has received Bronze certification for 2013-2014. EcoSchools is an environmental education program in Ontario that helps students and schools to become more environmentally friendly. To become a certified EcoSchool, the school must show achievement in leadership, energy conservation, waste minimization, ecological literacy, curriculum and school ground greening.

NAEC showed their commitment to the environment throughout the 2013-2014 school year through events such as National Sweater Day, Earth Hour and Earth Day. Eight secondary students also participated in an Environmental Conference in Kingston.

The main focus for this school year was to revamp the school’s paper recycling program. With help from a variety of classes including the Restart Program, School to Community, Grade 12 College English, Grade 11 University Math and Grade 9 Academic English, the paper recycling program has been very successful this year.

“I am so proud of our students. It takes a lot of hard work over a long period of time to earn certification. This type of commitment to the school, the community and the environment is fantastic. Thank you to Ms. Randle and her hard-working team,” said Angela Salmond, principal at NAEC.

EcoSchools is a voluntary program led by teachers and volunteers at schools across Ontario.  

by Steve Blight

Early one morning in May, I was woken up gradually by a familiar birdsong drifting through my open window. As I often do when I hear a bird that takes me a few minutes to register and identify, I ran through some of the possibilities. Warbler? Goldfinch? Grosbeak? Nope, nope and nope. Then I hit on it - it was an Indigo Bunting.

This year I am lucky to be stationed at our house near Sharbot Lake full time, so I am keeping track of the arrival dates of all our familiar summer birds, and May 20 was the arrival date for the Indigo Bunting. He has been one of the vigorous songsters serenading me awake every morning since.

Indigo Buntings are sparrow-sized songbirds that breed throughout the eastern half of North America wherever there is suitable edge habitat. In our area, Indigo Buntings choose areas where tall deciduous trees and shrubs are interspersed with grasses and other herbaceous vegetation. Hedgerows, roadsides, shrubby old fields and hydro rights of way are ideal spots to find Indigo Buntings.

Male Indigo Buntings are Ontario's only completely blue bird. Its head is a deep blue with its back and underparts more of a royal blue with a bit of black or brown streaking. Females are much duller, generally being a fairly uniform brown with the occasional hint of blue in her wing feathers. Indigo buntings eat seeds, berries, buds and a wide range of insects and spiders. Females do the nest building and all the incubation. Males only begin taking on parental duties once the young have fledged, when he takes over much of the feeding while the female prepares for a second brood.

Indigo Buntings have a special place in my heart. Long ago before I had become keenly interested in birds, my wife Anna (or more correctly my wife-to-be at the time) and I were enjoying a pleasant spring evening in her back yard in London, Ontario. At one point we both looked up and saw what appeared to be a small blue bird in the shrubs at the edge of the yard. Neither of us had any idea that all-blue birds like this could be seen in Ontario, and the hunt was on to figure out what it was. This led me to purchase my very first bird field guide, and after careful study, you guessed it, we came to the conclusion that the bird was an Indigo Bunting. And thus two birders and general nature enthusiasts were born and the world has been a much richer place for us ever since.

Fortunately, unlike many birds that winter in Mexico and Central America, Indigo Bunting populations seem to be holding their own. There has been some variation in abundance from place to place and over time, but overall numbers in Ontario seem to be steady or even increasing slightly. I am optimistic that I will be woken up on late May mornings by this enthusiastic singer for many years to come. At least he waits until dawn -- decidedly unlike the Eastern Whip-poor-will that has taken up residence around our house and who sings all night!

Mississippi and Rideau Valley Watersheds - Thanks to a generous grant of $149,500 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), community groups, scientists and watershed agencies are teaming up to learn about what is impacting the health of lakes in Eastern Ontario and to look for new ways to make changes in order to protect our lakes and rivers.

Carleton University, Friends of the Tay Watershed, Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority and Rideau Valley Conservation Authority want to better understand what is causing green algae blooms and profuse aquatic plant growth in local lakes and rivers. OTF funding is making this special project possible.

Over the next two years, the partners will conduct research and offer community outreach tools including workshops, fact sheets and best management practice guidance for waterfront stewards and property owners to better understand the ecological changes that are occurring in Eastern Ontario lakes.

The common perception throughout the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds is that aquatic algae growth is increasing. Algae blooms are becoming bigger — despite little observed change in nutrient concentrations in the lakes. Working with partners, the collaborative will examine why this is happening, and together we can move towards solutions.

“We want to understand the historic and current health of our Eastern Ontario lakes and rivers,” says Mike Yee, RVCA Biology and Water Quality Manager. “If there’s a unique cause of excessive algae and plant growth, we want to know what it is. From there, we want to educate watershed residents and provide best management practices on how we can work together to reduce the problem.”

Yee acknowledges that aquatic algae and plants are part of the natural ecosystem. They are the first vital links in a natural food chain that all other water creatures rely on including insects, frogs, minnows and small fish right up to top predators like bass, muskie and lake trout.

“Abundant growth occurs when things are out of balance and we start to see cause for concern,” says Yee. “When we have too many plants and algae decomposing in our water, it uses up too much oxygen and degrades the aquatic ecosystems. Reduced oxygen can cause fish kills and excessive blooms that are unappealing to water users. The good news is there are things we can all do to help maintain the balance and keep our lakes and rivers healthy and thriving natural environments.”

“Our local watersheds are well known for their lakes and river systems,” says Yee. “Our continued enjoyment of these features depends on our careful stewardship.”

For more information about this project, contact Kaitlin Brady, RVCA Junior Resource Technician at 613-692-3571 ext. 1154 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Mike Yee, RVCA Biology and Water Quality Manager at 613-692-3571 ext. 1176 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

Hydro One is warning those living in South Frontenac they will be spraying Garlon “as part of its vegetation management program, on the condition that Hydro One reviews the program with township staff, advises adjacent property owners in advance of spraying and does no spraying adjacent to organic farming operations.”

There is no question here of permission. I am certainly not alone in taking issue with the use of poisons when manual labour will deal with the issue and not harm the environment, which includes people.

We seem to have forgotten that we live in a closed system. Poisons, no matter how 'safe' they are purported to be, kill. Be it pesticides, herbicides or suicides, there are alternatives. Yes, it is more labour intensive and the care will be ongoing, but in the end, you have life not death. Studies continue to assess the lingering effects of poisons on our pollinators, animals and humans.

Getting informed about this, apparently yearly, poisoning ritual, I went on line to find out why chemical warfare is deemed necessary to tame nature. Stephen Overbury from Portland wrote a letter to the Smith Falls Record News last August, denouncing the use of chemicals because people would be affected. He called Hydro One and eventually, some three referrals later, was put in touch with the forestry manger for that region, who told him that “in this rural application, they (the poisons) were legal.”

When someone says something is 'legal' it brings Monsanto to mind, as they try to legally fool the public into thinking GMOs are a good thing, are trying to ban a farmer's right to save his crop seeds, or remove our ability to choose non-GMO products.

On the whole the Hydro One site showed the many positive ways staff deal with trees and brush in an environmentally responsible way, but they continue to use herbicides for vegetation control. This must stop. Here is their on-line email. I hope you join me in asking Hydro One to use manual labour to deal with the vegetation over-growth.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , subject: RoW Maintenance Request from Web

There are always alternatives to the use of poisons. Hydro One should spend their money on people, not poisons.

Jocelyne Steeves

Carol Pepper in her May 22/14 comment, "Defend Our Climate Gathering" mentions that this is all about defending our communities, rights, economy, health, sovereignty, etc.

The truth is that this movement started out identified as "global warming", but was hastily changed to "climate change" as the originators saw that global cooling was also on the radar so to speak.

Carol is correct in one sense but in another quite wrong. The movement makes a big ado about an event that has been and is repetitive, but it is misused to steal billions of dollars yearly from western nations to enrich the pockets of the system, tyrannical nations and leaders, and so called experts who talk the talk but whose lifestyles do not walk the walk.

In short it is a scam, another way to fool the foolish and ignorant into parting ways with their earned money through ridiculous environmental fees that do no good except make multi millionaires of the "enviro scammers".

Thus it is an attack on communities, standard of living, rights, economies, health, freedoms, sovereignty, etc. etc. etc.

It is also interesting to note that several people, including Suzuki, who is but a mere geneticist with no educational background in climate change, was one of those latter day inquisitorial intolerants.

Edward Kennedy    

by Lorraine Julien

As you may know, Monarch butterfly numbers are at an all-time low. Monarch populations reached a peak in 1996 when there were nearly a billion Monarchs spanning over nearly 45 acres of forest in Mexico’s Monarch sanctuaries where they winter. The current population is down to about 35 million according to the World Wildlife Fund – Mexico. The numbers are down so low that now only three acres of forest are needed for their winter sanctuary.

Extreme weather (heat, drought, cold and wet) has mostly affected them over the past two years. They must also deal with vanishing habitats and the increased presence of GMO crops, which are known to wipe out milkweed, their only host plant. Hundreds of years of farming practices didn’t really affect the Monarch populations but, after 10 years of GMO farming, the affects are alarming. Farmers no longer till weeds but, instead spray the fields with Roundup. Pesticide exposure is also killing honeybees.

There is a conservation plan – the North American Monarch Conservation Plan, which focuses on habitat protection, restoration and enhancement, increasing milkweed on public and private lands as well as informing the public about Monarch conservation efforts.

What can we do? - There are many ways that we can help in our own backyards, and make our properties more attractive at the same time. It’s fairly simple to create a butterfly garden. You may have some ideas of your own or perhaps some of the following ideas may help to make your garden a haven for butterflies:

• Plant flowers that bloom all summer long to attract butterflies and other pollinators. There are many flowering plants and shrubs that will attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Following is a sampling of some well known varieties that are easy to grow: aster, black-eyed susan, purple coneflower, phlox, butterfly bush, lavender, lilac, lupine, pansy, shasta daisy, snapdragon, hollyhock – just to name a few. Day lilies, goldenrod and, particularly, milkweed are just a few of the many wild, native plants that attract these pollinators.

• Milkweed is essential for the survival of the Monarchs as their eggs are laid only on the milkweed plant. The caterpillars that evolve rely entirely on the milkweed plant for their food.

• Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds rely on flower nectar all summer to provide them with food.

• Flat stones, particularly in sunny, sheltered spots provide a place to bask and rest in the sun

• If you have room, a bird bath or small pond can provide water for all pollinators and attract birds at the same time

• Avoid using pesticides but, if you must, read instructions carefully and avoid spraying when windy or when rain is forecast (to avoid runoff). Also avoid spraying for mosquitoes or other biting insects when Monarchs are present.

• Avoid pest problems by burying infested plant residues, removing pest habitat and by planting disease and pest resistant plants

You can help build community support by sharing information about Monarch conservation with your friends, family and neighbours. Explain how they can help by planting butterfly gardens and habitat.

By doing what you can to help the Monarch, you will also assist in making our small part of the planet more beautiful. Birds and butterflies are like flowers on the wing. Their presence brings a beauty to the garden that nothing else can match.

Send your observations to Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Lorraine Julien, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   

I was in attendance at the “Defend Our Climate” gathering in Sharbot Lake as reported in your last issue of The Frontenac News. I was pleased that Julie Druker came to interview the group. It is probably not possible to have a more diverse array of answers to her question, “What brought you out today to this event?” I shared some information from a meeting I had just attended of the National Farmers Union where there was a presentation on how the NFU has been actively trying to STOP the passing of Bill C-18 (go to www.nfu.ca for info and how to TAKE ACTION). This bill, if passed, will allow the biggest seed companies in the world to exercise almost total control over seed in Canada. These companies would be able to charge royalties on a farmer's entire crop! The plan is to restrict farmers from saving their own seed, force them to buy seed from private plant breeders who will offer only a mass market product. This is not the way it has been in the past. Canada's public plant breeders have been internationally respected for working in the public interest and work with farmers to develop plant varieties that are regionally adapted and can help farmers and our food system adapt to changing climate. It should stay that way now when we need it the most. The fact is that so -called “trade deals” are being used among other concerns, to enforce plant breeders' rights and prevent our farmers from saving seed. Check out CETA, Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the TPP, Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, Intellectual Property Rights Chapter.

I also made the comment that I feel any conversation about climate change should also include something else that I have come across. It can be called GeoEngineering, SRM, Solar Radiation Management, or Stratospheric Aerosol Spraying. From my observations so far I have to say that I have concerns about its effects on climate, human health and the health of the planet. The topic can be researched under any of those names.

“Defending Our Climate” as the gathering was called, is about defending our communities, our rights, our economy, our health, our sovereignty, and the list doesn't end. It can seem so difficult to know what to think about the topic, not to mention what to do about it. It helps to get solid information, start talking to others who share the same concerns and support the organizations who are already taking action to defend us.

Carol Pepper