There are many factors to a healthy ecosystem and the only way to understand how they work is to educate people on the different factors.
In an effort to keep people educated the Friends of Chain Lakes organized their second annual meeting to empower people with knowledge of our waterways and lakes. The group invited Kerri O’Shaughnessy from Cows and Fish in Edmonton to speak about the importance of riparian areas at Scott School Hall recently.
Riparian areas are the places between waterways such as a river or stream, lakes and ponds and the watershed beyond the water. “It’s the zone that is dryer than wet and wetter than dry.”
There are many different factors that can affect a riparian area, including the types of plants, fish, wildlife and livestock, human activity and even natural events such as storms and droughts that help in the building or destruction of riparian areas. “These functions, they mesh together like the finely crafted parts of a watch,” said O’Shaughnessy.
Indicators of a healthy area can usually be found through visual investigation; plants and trees are growing in abundance and the waterway has time to filter rather than flow straight through. “When we lose those things the water speeds up.”
O’Shaughnessy has categories of riparian area quality:
• Healthy – little or no impairment.
• Healthy but with problems – some impairment due to human or natural causes.
• Unhealthy – riparian functions are not occurring.
Cows and Fish studied 2075 sites in Alberta and found 28-per-cent to be healthy, 50-per-cent were healthy but with problems and 22-per-cent unhealthy.
“We know there’s issues and we know there’s great potential for landscapes,” she said.
She feels people generally understand the issues faced by these areas but do not know a solution to help those areas that are unhealthy.
Maintaining a riparian area is a “patient person’s business,” she explained.
O’Shaughnessy advises a proper study of an area before taking action because it might just need time to heal rather than any sort of action.
She credits the Friends of Chain Lakes for their efforts to educate people and suggest they take their learning into the schools. This will help drive further awareness and education.
Another tool for the Friends is to bring people together for larger family events; the more people feel included then the more likely action will be taken, she added.
Joanne McMillan, chairperson of the Friends of the Chain Lakes group hopes to continue these educational meetings to drive greater interest. “We are attempting to start to a tradition here.”
Edith Williams is a member of the group and she has enjoyed these educational meetings. “It’s been a real learning experience for me.”
She has a new outlook on aquifers and Williams did not realize the different types of pollutants that could come into a lake. She feels these issues can be reduced through education and awareness.