Stormwater Stroll - Bayfield self-guided tour

Posted: Tuesday, September 4, 2018
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Stormwater Stroll - A self-guided tour of positive actions in Bayfield to protect water


Self-guided tour of Bayfield - Stormwater Stroll - unveiled on Love Your Greats Day

A new, self-guided tour of Bayfield - called the Stormwater Stroll, was unveiled on a day dedicated to loving our Great Lakes.

The Bayfield Stormwater Stroll self-guided walking tour includes stops to view residential and community rain gardens, permeable driveways, rain barrels, tree planting, planting of native species, and more. 

To learn more about this informative self-guided tour you are invited to contact Hope Brock at 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610 or email hbrock@abca.ca 

The Main Bayfield and Bayfield North watersheds are priority areas ('beacon' areas or sentinel watersheds) for Healthy Lake Huron: Clean Water, Clean Beaches. In these beacon areas, long-term monitoring of water quality and weather, and implementation of projects, are taking place and lessons learned can be applied in other Lake Huron communities.

“To keep Lake Huron healthy, we need to look at what we can do on our own properties to minimize stormwater pollution,” according to the Stormwater Stroll brochure. “Stormwater is water from rain or snowmelt that does not soak into the ground. Instead, if flows over the land and can pick up sediment, fertilizer and bacterial pollutants and carry them to the lake.”

Bayfield is one of several lakeshore communities doing projects to help protect the lake. Homeowners, community groups, the Municipality of Bluewater, and other organizations are working to help protect the quality of water entering Lake Huron and the Bayfield River. The community has embarked on projects help to improve the quality of water with rain gardens, rain barrels, tree planting, permeable pavement, and more. 

You are invited to take a Stormwater Stroll self-guided walking tour in Bayfield, along the shores of Lake Huron, and to check out different urban initiatives in the village. 

To learn more, and to download the Bayfield Stormwater Stroll brochure, please visit the Ausable Bayfield Conservation website at abca.ca at this link: 

To find out more visit the Storwmater Stroll web page by clicking this link:

Download the new Stormwater Stroll Brochure at this link:

To learn more click on this video about some of the things going on in Bayfield:

The Stormwater Stroll self-guided tour was launched on Love Your Greats Day on Saturday, August 11, 2018.

Love Your Greats Day promotes education, local action to protect our Great Lakes, and promotes projects that are worth visiting are in local lakeshore communities.

A local day to celebrate our Great Lakes, called Love Your Greats, took place on Saturday, August 11, 2018.

The day’s themes related to sustainable food and water. Themes include making changes to reduce plastic use; education about Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes; buying local food and growing your own food; and other water protection projects including rain gardens, wetlands, tree planting, and responsible purchase of products that don’t pollute. 

Jen Pate, of Bayfield, said local communities can take actions to protect Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes.

There are many residents and landowners, businesses, community groups, and other organizations that are partners in this work to encourage education and positive local actions.

There are many ways people can help to protect and improve their lake, whether it’s a two-minute beach clean with an app (visit beachclean.net); reducing plastic pollution by refilling your reusable water bottles at Blue Bayfield’s Blue Betty bike or at the water refill station at Grand Bend’s Main Beach or at a number of other local locations; or visiting participating sustainable businesses and markets within walking distance of Grand Bend, Bayfield, Goderich, and other local communities.

“Change starts with the smallest steps,” according to event organizers. You are also invited to share your thoughts on ways to protect the lake by emailing: info@loveyourgreats.com

On Love Your Greats Day people were able to check out Yellow Fish Road™ education efforts, in Bayfield and other Lake Huron communities, by groups like the Bayfield Girl Guides. In local communities, young people, including Guides and Scouts, have painted yellow fish beside some storm drains. These fish are a reminder that only rain water should go down the drain. Anything else can have an impact on fish and water quality. 

These are just some of the projects and locations in shoreline and inland communities that showcase what is being done, and what can be done, to keep our Great Lake great.

There are ways to learn about tree planting, cover crops, and other best management practices online at local conservation organizations. People can learn about the role of soil health in protecting water in creeks, rivers, and the lake at the Huronview Demonstration Farm near Clinton. You are also invited to visit businesses and locations, in local communities, striving to be more sustainable for a healthier Lake Huron future. 

Learn more about Great Lakes partners in Canada and the United States at loveyourgreats.com/friends and at lakehuroncommunityaction.ca and healthylakehuron.ca. Visit loveyourgreats.com to find out more.