$2.58M Great Lakes funding focuses on farm-based projects
With Lake Huron as a backdrop, Ontario’s Environment Minister announced $2.58 million to pay for 19 new projects, all focused on helping farmers protect the environment.
“This $2.5-million investment is part of a broader $10 million plus envelope, but it’s actually working hand in hand with local leaders, like Don,” says David Piccini, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks.
That’s Don Farrell he’s talking about. Farrell is a longtime board member of the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network, a grassroots, not-for-profit group created in 2000 to try and restore the health of the Pine River, near Ripley.
By planting over 250,000 trees, and installing over 10 kilometres of fencing to keep cattle out of the river, they’ve returned the waterway to health, and with $60,000 in new provincial funding, they’ll do even more.
“Whatever we get, we like to put in the ground. If it’s in the ground, it’s going to help somebody,” says Farrell.
Most of the 19 projects are focusing on keeping soil, and potential pollution from Ontario farms, from entering the province’s streams, rivers and lakes.
Projects like subsidizing the cost of planting cover crops, designed to help the environment and increase food production.
“Organic material is really important to us. It will get you through a tough year. Having a strong soil structure helps in limited rain and heavy rain,” says Brandon Coleman, a Huron County farmer who planted cover crops with the assistance of the local conservation authority.
“Cover crops really help to reduce the wind and water erosion, and if that soil stays on the field, it stays out of the creeks and waterways, and the lake,” says Hope Brock, with the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority’s Healthy Watersheds Initiative.
“If that soil ends up at the bottom of the lake, it’s no good to anyone,” explains Farrell. “So, all their efforts are to preserve what they own. With the price of farmland, you can’t be letting it wash away or blow away. You need it for production."
Projects like the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network are building on work already underway through the Lake Erie Agriculture Demonstrating Sustainability (LEADS) fund. A five-year, $15.6-million commitment from the federal and provincial governments to help farmers adopt more sustainable farming practices.
“Utilizing soil management and planting trees to control any runoffs that could potentially happen, and more importantly to demonstrate how we’re all working together to ensure clean water throughout our lakeshore,” says Lisa Thompson, Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
A list of the projects funded can be found here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.