RESOURCES & EDUCATION
USE THESE TOOLS TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR LOCAL STREAMS AND WETLANDS
A large part of our mission at Ontario Streams is to establish an information centre to connect our community with the tools to facilitate the preservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the aquatic communities in the streams and rivers in Ontario.
The following resources have been created by Ontario Streams or our partner organizations for your reference. If you have any questions about their contents, or know of a resource that could be a useful addition to this archive, please don't hesitate to contact us .
Education
Our Videos
We create and publish videos to help share the importance of our conservation work. Check out our videos on our
YouTube channel!
Raising Awareness about Redside Dace with the Toronto Zoo
In 2021, we collaborated with the Toronto Zoo's Great Lakes Program to create a series of videos and infographics to raise awareness about the endangered Redside Dace
Videos can be found here!
Infographic 1: Introduction to Redside Dace
Infographic 2: Threats to Redside Dace
Infographic 3: How to Help Redside Dace
The Classroom Hatchery Program
The Atlantic Salmon Classroom Hatchery Program is one of the education components of the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program (LOASRP). This five-month hands-on lesson on Atlantic salmon and the biodiversity of the Lake Ontario watershed introduces students, parents, and teachers to the Atlantic salmon species, their history in Ontario, and the restoration efforts to bring back a healthy and self-sustaining population to Lake Ontario.
Leo's Fishheads by TVO Kids!
FishHeads is a kids' adventure science series that explores what is going on under the waves and around the shorelines as our hosts discover the aquatic world of Ontario, the rest of Canada and beyond - getting to know these amazing Eco-systems and the beings that call them home.
Click here to watch 'The Mighty Red' episode featuring Ontario Streams staff!
Look Before You Leap! Grandfather Frog Meets Red, the Redside Dace
Our favourite frog is busy catching flies for dinner when one of them gets swallowed by a mysterious leaping creature. It’s a Redside Dace, the amazing little leaping fish that’s native to Ontario. Red introduces himself to Grandfather Frog, and we learn that his species is under threat from human development. Captain Nemo appears, asking New Atlanteans to help protect the Redside Dace - an important “indicator” species - and to support efforts at keeping our waterways healthy and clean.
The City of Toronto's Pollinator Protection Strategy
With the goal of protecting the more than 360 species of bees and more than 100 species of butterflies and other pollinators that call Toronto home, the City of Toronto has adopted a Pollinator Protection Strategy. The Strategy identifies a set of guiding principles, six priorities and 30 actions that the City and community can take to protect our diverse native pollinator community.
Garden and Aquarium Smart: Stopping Aquatic Invasive Species
Ontario Streams in partnership with the Invading Species Awareness Program developed this training and awareness video geared towards educating retail staff on the issue of invading aquatic species and their link to the Aquarium and Water Garden trades as pathways of introduction. Education is key in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species.
Stop the Spread by Spreading the Word! for more information visit:
www.invadingspecies.com
Resources
Ontario's Stream Rehabilitation Manual
Developed by Ontario Streams, the Ontario's Stream Rehabilitation Manual was produced for the benefit of people who value the rivers and streams of Ontario. Click here to see the manual!
Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs)
Fisheries Management Plans are developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry in partnership with the relevant Conservation Authority. These important documents are resources meant to be used to develop and implement rehabilitation projects and to be used as a tool to guide and influence where development occurs. The finalized documents are available for download:
Environmental Assessments
Ontario Streams has been involved in the completion of several environmental assessments and environmental studies. Several reports that Ontario Streams has helped author are available for download:
Lower Humber Barrier Mitigation Project
Newberry Park Wetland Restoration Project
Lower Humber River Wetland Complex Project
State of Wetlands in the City of Toronto
Ontario Streams led a review on wetlands within the City of Toronto and evaluated the status of these sensitive habitats.
Atlantic Salmon Egg Incubation Experiment 2008 - 2013
Atlantic Salmon have been extirpated from Lake Ontario waters for over 100 years . With the help of recent restoration efforts that have mitigated barriers and reopened access to headwater tributaries, reintroduction to watersheds like the Humber River is possible.
Ontario Streams has been involved in a novel study incubating Atlantic Salmon eyed-eggs directly in headwater creeks of several GTA watersheds since 2008. Listed below are the yearly reports.
Partnership with Fleming College
In Fall 2022, students from the Ecosystem Management Technology program at Fleming College joined Ontario Streams to complete stream monitoring on Purpleville Creek in the East Humber watershed. This cold headwater stream that is home to sensitive species including brook trout and redside dace. With their shared knowledge of the Ontario Stream Assessment Protocol (OSAP), students helped to map the channel morphology and identify the benthic macroinverterbrate (aquatic bugs) community to help us monitor any changes to stream health. Here is one of the reports written by the students!
Other Studies
Ontario Streams staff and other organizations have been involved in a number of studies ranging in topics from endangered fish species to monitoring and assessing the health of our ecosystems.
Redside Dace Recovery Strategy Fluvial Geomorphology Study
2018 State of the Wetlands in Lake Simcoe Watershed
Silt Smart - Erosion and Sediment Control Effectiveness Monitoring