ASHMuskoka

Together, we can save Muskoka

News

April 24th ash drive is cancelled

Announcements, News, Program Updates

Due to the latest COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the province, we find ourselves once again having to cancel the upcoming ash drive.

Therefore, there will be NO ash drive on April 24th.

Until restrictions have been lifted, we will not be collecting any ash, and we ask that you DO NOT drop off ash containers at our Bracebridge office.

We will update everyone as soon as we can with our schedule and plans beyond the end of April.

Please stay tuned to our social media feeds and our websites for more info.

Thank you for your continued support of ASHMuskoka and Friends of the Muskoka Watershed.

We’re Back! And we are thrilled!

Announcements, Donating Ash, News

After what seems like a very, very long time, we are once again holding an ash drive.

Saturday, March 27th from 9am to 3pm
at Rosewarne Transfer Station in Bracebridge.

Please bring the ash you have been saving. We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

Oh Yeah! Ash Drive!!

We apologize for the previous cancellations and delays in collecting. We are grateful for your patience and continued support for ASHMuskoka.

Do note that COVID protocols are still in effect, including physical distancing and masks. We thank you for helping to keep each other safe.

March 6th ash drive is cancelled

Announcements, Donating Ash, Events, News

Due to provincial restrictions placing Muskoka back in the grey zone, and in consultation with the District Municipality of Muskoka, we have made the decision to cancel the March 6th ash drive.

We appreciate all of the support and efforts our ash donors have been putting forth during the pandemic. Your support is the reason this vital project has been and will continue to be successful!

We are hoping the restrictions will be alleviated in time for our scheduled March 27th Ash Drive.

Please stay tuned to our social media feeds and our websites for more info.

Thank you for your understanding and your continued support.

Friends of the Muskoka Watershed – ASHMuskoka Team

We feel it’s best to be safe – February Ash Drive is Cancelled

Announcements, Donating Ash

After some careful consideration, we’ve decided to postpone the February 20th ASHMuskoka Ash Drive until March.

Although we in Muskoka are in the Red Zone this week, we are taking extra precautions with organizing the next drives to ensure the safest experience for all involved – including donors, volunteers and staff.

To make up for the cancelled January and February Ash Drives, we are planning to hold two in March (Ontario’s COVID restrictions permitting), currently scheduled for:

  • Saturday, March 6, and
  • Saturday, March 27.

In the interim, we know that many of you have full cans of ash waiting to be dropped off in exchange for one or more empty cans. So that we may determine supply and demand, we would appreciate if you fill out this short questionnaire which will help us to better help you.

PLEASE NOTE: We have a limited number of empty cans at this point, so replacements are on a first-come-first-serve basis as long as we have supply.

PLEASE DO NOT drop off your ash at our office. We will contact you using the information you supply below.

Thank you for understanding and your continued support.

The results are in …

Calcium, News, Program Updates, Science, wood ash

Recent research co-authored by our Trent University collaborator, Dr. Shaun Watmaugh and led by his M.Sc. student, Holly Deighton**, has definitively shown that dosage levels of 6 tonnes per hectare of wood ash addition to forest soil resulted in significant increases in soil pH and calcium and magnesium concentrations. The level of response, however, varied by treatment. Foliar concentrations of base cations in sugar maple seedlings significantly increased in ash treatments and there was no significant treatment effect on foliar metal concentrations or seedling growth. In roots and shoots, concentrations of several metals (manganese, aluminum, iron, boron, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, copper, lead, chromium, and nickel) increased after ash application, however response was most pronounced in yellow birch ash.

These results suggest that application of non-industrial wood ash can counteract the lasting effects of acid rain by increasing soil pH and base cation concentrations, as well as increasing sugar maple seedling foliar nutrient concentrations, but ashes from species with high metal contents may also increase metal availability to vegetation, at least in the short‐term.

What does this mean for Muskoka forests and our ASHMuskoka program?

The research cited suggests we should see real benefits from our ash additions, both the one completed in the fall of 2019 and the upcoming larger-scale addition in 2021. With such positive results after only 3 months, it means we are on the right track in the revitalization of our local forests which have been impacted by acid rain. It also means that proceeding with our larger-scale deployment will not be problematic with respect to levels of metals concentrations in the ash as they do not exceed provincial regulations. Given the conclusions of this early research, we anticipate extremely positive results with our larger-scale deployment of between 6 and 8 tonnes per hectare, results which may not only “wake up” the currently napping forests but also increase transpiration rates and have a positive impact on the ability of the forest to mitigate the effects of increasing levels of precipitation in the region.

**Holly D. Deighton and Shaun A. Watmough, Effects of Non‐Industrial Wood Ash (NIWA) Applications on Soil Chemistry and Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum, Marsh.) Seedling Growth in an Acidic Sugar Bush in Central Ontario in Forests 2020, 11, 693; doi:10.3390/f11060693

Norm’s Notes: The first evidence is in, wood ash works!

Calcium, News, Program Updates, Science, wood ash

FMW’s approach to protecting Muskoka watersheds is to work with the local and scientific communities to identify, develop and foster solutions to the stressors in our watershed. The proposed solutions may be novel, such as the use of non-industrial wood ash to solve the widespread calcium decline problem. New approaches are risky. They may not work. This issue’s Graph of the Month provides the first proof that the risk was worth taking, i.e. local firewood ashes do provide a rapid and substantial benefit to local sugar maple.

The accompanying chart highlights one key result of Holly Deighton’s Masters thesis research directed by Dr Shaun Watmough at Trent University, and FMW partner. With FMW support, Holly added ashes from maple, yellow birch and pine firewood to small 2*2 m plots supporting maple seedlings in a local sugar bush. All three ash types reduced the acidity and increased calcium and magnesium levels in the soil. The chart shows this led to dramatic increases in calcium levels in all parts of the maple seedlings. Holly’s work was a small pilot study in the ASHMuskoka project, but it provides our first proof of principle that local residential wood ashes can provide the solution to ecological osteoporosis in Muskoka forests.

It takes knowledge and will to solve ecological problems. For the ecological osteoporosis problem, we are beginning to develop the knowledge. The next step is to refine the needed doses and prove additions work at a larger scale in multiple locations. That’s why we are following the results of last November’s larger ash additions in three sugar bushes. This should teach us what we need to know for our watershed-scale ash addition over the next 12 months.

Please keep “saving your ash” for us. We will be continuing to collect it from you over the coming months.