News

Good News! Ash Drives are resuming in August.

Donating Ash, Events, News, Program Updates

It’s been a long time since our last ash drive for our ASHMuskoka Program – 6 months, in fact. We are sincerely grateful for your patience during this time and for continuing to save your ash in order to help restore vital calcium levels in our Muskoka forests and lakes.

We are announcing today that ash drives will be resuming beginning August 15th with a total of 7 currently scheduled for the remainder of 2020. They will take place at the Rosewarne Transfer Station in Bracebridge from 9am to 3pm on the following Saturdays:

August 15th
August 29th
September 12th
September 26th
October 24th
November 21st
December 19th

We are holding 2 ash drives in each of August and September as many of you have informed us that you have large quantities of ash saved. We want to make it as convenient as we can at this point for you to drop off the ash to us.

Yes, I’d like to drop off my wood ash at an upcoming ash drive

As we do for each ash drive, we again ask that you indicate whether you will be able to drop off your saved ash by clicking on the link button above and filling in the form on the page. Note that this does not restrict you to only one ash drive. It simply helps us to effectively plan each date for the benefit of our ash contributors.

PLEASE NOTE:

Physical distancing protocols will be in effect to help ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and you, our valued ash contributors.

A note regarding FMW and our COVID-19 response

Announcements, FMW, News

Doug Clark

Vice-Chairman, Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

COVID-19

Over the last 48 hours, much of the global response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has focused on strategies to avoid overburdening healthcare systems that don’t have the infrastructure to handle a sudden surge of cases all at once. It’s called flattening the curve, and the best way to do this is through “social distancing” — measures designed to limit social interaction.

That is why Friends of the Muskoka Watershed is announcing that effective Wednesday, March 18 our offices will be closed until further notice, and all ash collection has been put on hold, including the canceling of our Ash Drives scheduled for March 21st and April 18th.

In the short term, nothing is more important than reducing the spread and transmission of COVID-19. That being said, our important work will continue so please keep following us online and feel free to contact us as usual through our office number (705-640-0948) or our e-mail ids (friends@fotmw.org or use ashmuskoka@fotmw.org if you need a new ash can).

Stay healthy,

Doug Clark, Vice-Chair

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

Our ASHMuskoka promotional video

News, Program Updates

During the summer months this year (2019), Ian Black, a Master of Science Communication student from Laurentian University, expertly crafted a video on the ASHMuskoka program for Friends of the Muskoka Watershed. This effort was part of the commitment we made when we received the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.

The purpose of the video is to bring public awareness to, and inspire willingness to act on, the issue of calcium decline, emphasizing how recycling wood ash could help solve the problem while also fostering community involvement in preserving and protecting Muskoka’s forest and freshwater ecosystems.

We encourage individuals and groups to share this video, as we want to reach as many people in Ontario as possible. Even if you are not a wood burner or ash donator, you can help to make our program a success by being one of our stewardship ambassadors.

Thank you. We sincerely appreciate your participation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Have you seen our new building?

Announcements, News

Truth be told, neither have we. But we are desperately looking for one. And maybe you have seen it.

Do you know of one that is available?

You see, we really need a place to store and process approximately 100 tonnes of wood ash in preparation for our large-scale deployment in the third year of the ASHMuskoka program. And though we gratefully acknowledge the support which the District Municipality of Muskoka has provided by allowing us storage space at the Rosewarne transfer site in Bracebridge for our first year, it is not enough space for our next phase.

If we don’t find our new building, we are placing the continued success of ASHMuskoka in jeopardy.

And we don’t have much money for leasing/renting.

If you can assist us in finding suitable space, we’d love to speak with you.

Please contact us at:

ashmuskoka@fotmw.org

Or via our contact page:

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

If you are able to put up our request for assistance poster, that, too, would be appreciated. You may download a printable PDF version here:

PDF Poster

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed begins calcium restoration field study

News, Program Updates

In August, Friends of the Muskoka Watershed met with Dr. Shaun Watmough, Professor and Director of the Trent School of the Environment and a leading expert on calcium decline, and four of Dr. Watmough’s graduate students, to officially start the collection of field data for the applied research component of the ASHMuskoka three year project.

Twenty, 10 x 10 meter plots were laid out in three local OMSPA (Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association) sugar bushes marking 60 plots in total. In each plot, leaf litter, saplings, foliage from the canopy of leaves high up on the trees, and soil samples were collected.

“We are thrilled to be working with Dr. Watmough to determine the effect of residential wood ash on forest health.” states Dr. Shakira Azan, Project Lead.

Dr. Azan continues, “With the findings from this research, we hope to identify a wood ash dosage that would make a positive difference in forests with low calcium concentrations.”

In addition to these samples, last March, Dr. Azan visited all three sugar bushes and took samples of maple sap from tagged trees.

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed, in collaboration with Trent University and volunteers, plan to distribute the wood ash collected thus far in all 60 plots in late October.

FAQ: Calcium and the watershed

FAQ, News

Elevator version:

Calcium is an essential nutrient, particularly for tiny creatures called daphnia. They filter the water in our lakes, and without daphnia we would have serious algae problems. Calcium is also vital for trees, particularly sugar maples. Without enough calcium, it’s like the trees are half-asleep even in summer.

In Muskoka, years of acid rain has washed a lot of the calcium out of the soil and the lakes. We’re already seeing the results of this.

One way to get calcium back into the system is to add it directly to the soil. Trees can absorb some of it, and some of it will get filtered through into the lakes.

Wood ash is a fantastic source of calcium. Spreading it in the forest is a great way to get it into the soil and the lakes.

Most wood ash currently goes into the landfill. This project aims to set up a collection system that will get ash into the forests, where it can do the most good.