Stewardship
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship means to take good care of something. It requires sound planning and informed choices to ensure continuous improvement in environmental, health, and safety and social performance. With the responsible and careful use of the natural environment around us we can become good stewards of Muskoka.
Stewardship can also be a personal commitment to care for your land, sustaining or enhancing it for the enjoyment of future generations. Stewardship programs encourage landowners to manage their lands in ways that maintain, restore or enhance the diversity of native plants and wildlife.
Why is Watershed Stewardship Important?
Watershed stewardship involves understanding and respecting the interrelatedness of the watershed. It will provide significant benefits for current and future generations.
Maintaining a natural balance in the watershed reduces the likelihood of environmental deterioentation and the need for expensive remedial action plans. In the long run, proper stewardship is cost effective with economic and environmental savings in the preservation of our natural watershed.
Stewardship is the best insurance policy a landowner can have to ensure long-term protection of the investment made in shoreline property.
Stewardship Organizations
Nature Canada
Nature Canada's mission is to conserve and protect nature, Canada's natural diversity of plant and animal species and their environment. On this site you can find information on endangered species, parks and protected areas, nature watch programs and what you can do locally to become a steward of nature.
They work to protect entire landscapes and whole ecosystems so that all wildlife-common and rare, plants and animals-are protected for the benefit of Canadians.
Nature Canada operates under these guiding principles:
- Humans are an integral part of nature. We are dependent on and kindred to its diverse forms. By protecting nature, we protect and enrich ourselves.
- Protection of nature requires a strong commitment to environmentally responsible living, in every person's daily activities.
- Their strategies for protecting nature are based on sound science, ecological knowledge, and a passion for nature.
- They are committed to regular networking, effective communications, and coordinated action on issues of national significance with naturalists and others who care about nature.
Environment Canada: Take Action for the Environment
Environment Canada provides a place to share information and successes, find answers to your questions, network with others, discover organizations involved and become a part of the environmental learning and sustainability movement in Canada.
Stewardship Canada
The Stewardship Canada Network is a federal government site that supports organizations with information and useful contact links.
You can find:
- A searchable Directory of over 300 organizations that support stewards and their projects throughout Canada.
- A searchable and expanding self-registry service identifying Stewardship Organizations in Canada. You can add (or edit) your organization, or locate others with similar interests, in your community, or across the country.
- A searchable, annotated, and expanding self-registry service of over 300 stewardship web resources submitted by users and administrators from across the country.
- A searchable, and expanding self-registry catalogue of 256 stewardship projects that provides a great resource for sharing and reporting of project information. You can add your own project and experience to this knowledge database.
- A variety of Case Studies similar to Demonstration Projects. This service provides more detailed information and review about stewardship projects.
- The Stewardship Series and Streamkeepers publications including PDF files and options for downloading, printing, or ordering copies.
- A summary of Stewardship Forums such as the Voluntary Sector Initiative and current forums.
Ontario Stewardship
Ontario Stewardship is a model developed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to empower people to take part in stewardship activities in their own communities. The Ontario Stewardship Network establishes a connection with various organizations and encourages an ecosystem approach. It also provides links to many local stewardship organizations.
The program sets out to improve stewardship of our natural resources, to create a collaborative resource management model, and to implement a model of influence.
Parry Sound-Muskoka Stewardship Network
The Parry Sound- Muskoka Stewardship Network's vision is to encourage responsible care and use of our natural resources in the Parry Sound-Muskoka area.
The Parry Sound- Muskoka Stewardship Network's goal is to ensure landowners are aware of and have access to relevant management information. They work together with landowners, agencies and associations to deliver resource management programs and services.
The Parry Sound- Muskoka Stewardship Network provides educational opportunities that promote responsible resource stewardship and initiate and support stewardship projects that address locally identified resource concerns.
The local contact is:
Mike Walsh
Stewardship Coordinator
Parry Sound - Muskoka Stewardship Network
c/o Ministry of Natural Resources
RR # 2
Bracebridge, Ontario P1L 1W9
Phone: 705.646.5530
Fax: 705.645.8372
Email: mike.walsh@mnr.gov.on.ca
Centre for Sustainable Watersheds
Centre for Sustainable Watersheds is a resource for individuals, lake associations and other community water stewardship groups who are interested in protecting and conserving lakes and watercourses across Canada. They have developed a number of tools to help share information and build capacity so that communities can play a larger role in ensuring sustainable use of shared resources. This includes WIX an online GIS systems that bring water quality information together from a variety of sources.
Watershed InfoXchange (WIX)
Being a member of WIX allows you to enter data, download data, and register your organization. It also gives you access to a wide range of data, including the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's Lake Partner Program, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources' Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange and Environment Canada's Nature Watch data.
LandOwner Resource Centre
This site assist landowners by providing them with the information they need to make wise, informed decisions for their property. They provide quick, efficient and user-friendly service to find appropriate landowner resources.
This site includes information on:- forestry
- agriculture
- wildlife
- water
- soil
- land management issues
Muskoka Heritage Foundation
Muskoka's natural heritage is unique. From the bare rock and lone pines found on Georgian Bay to the lush upland forests and undulating hills near Algonquin Park, Muskoka is blessed with a diversity of landscapes, waterways, and plant and animal life. Some species are found nowhere else in Ontario. Competing, and often conflicting, land use demands make the task of protecting our heritage a vital and urgent one. The Muskoka Heritage Foundation encourages the careful management of natural lands through its Natural Heritage Committee and The Muskoka Heritage Trust.
On this site you can find
Natural heritage programs that help to conserve natural areas- The Muskoka Heritage Trust, which permanently aims to protect exceptional natural lands
- Built heritage program that encourages the preservation of historical structures, sites and artifacts
- Muskoka Watershed Council, which aims for the sustainability of Muskoka's watersheds
- Information about Ecology of the Night and preserving the natural night sky
- Resource centre, photos, volunteer and membership information
Muskoka Watershed Council
The Muskoka Watershed Council is committed to the enhancement of the health and sustainability of those watersheds lying partially or totally within the District Municipality of Muskoka.
On this site you can find:
- Position paper on the non-essential use of pesticides
- Position paper on aggregate resources in Muskoka
- Position paper on air quality in Muskoka
- Muskoka Watershed Report Card and Background Reports
- Best Practices Series Brochures
Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation
The Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation is a community-based, non-profit organization committed to protecting the natural, built and cultural heritage of Lake of Bays, covering the Lake of Bays Township and broad watershed. The Foundation's activities focus on the long term, with a view to preserving the natural heritage for future generations. The Lake of Bays Land Trust also helps to preserve and protect the natural environment.
Muskoka Lakes Association
The Muskoka Lakes Association has a long-term committment on behalf of the community to monitor, protect and enhance the environmental resourses of the Muskoka Lakes area. The Water Quality Initiative (WQI),dating back to 2000, is a formal scientifically-based monitoring program that complements monitoring programs of other agencies. The MLA has been co-operating with Citizen's Environment Watch (CEW), an Ontario-based environmental charity, since 2006, to deliver the monitoring program and develop local remedial action plans based on the results of the monitoring program.
Georgian Bay Association
Georgian Bay Association works with water-based communities and other stakeholders to ensure stewardship of the greater Georgian Bay environment and to promote the quiet enjoyment of its diverse and finite spaces. The Georgian Bay Land Trust purchases and maintains significant properties and provides education about environmental issues.
Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations
FOCA is a non-profit, voluntary organization representing over 500 Ontario cottagers' associations. FOCA acts as an information centre and provides assistance and leadership on many vital issues affecting cottage properties.
On this site you can find:- Information on their various cottage programs including DockTalk, Cottage Watch, and Cottage Choice
- Current news and upcoming events
- Information on FOCA Committees and the roles they play in your area
- Newsletters and links to their resource center
They provide representation, assistance and leadership to and for cottagers' associations on issues affecting their interests, and to encourage good environmental stewardship.
Their priorities are;
- To provide a forum for Ontario's cottagers to work together on common issues
- To communicate FOCA's concerns and positions effectively to all cottagers
- To preserve Ontario's natural environment
- To achieve fair property and education tax systems for Ontario's cottagers
- To ensure sound land-use planning policies are implemented locally and provincially
- To promote safe recreational boating
Contact your local Cottagers' Association for more stewardship programs relating to your area.
