FREE Movie Screening! MAKING WAVES: BATTLE FOR THE GREAT LAKES
Join us on Monday March 26  at Lakeshore Cinemas for this free movie screening! Making Waves: Battle for the Great Lakes takes viewers below the surface of the world's largest freshwater ecosystem and into the middle of a complex war for survival. For more than a century, non-native species of plants, fish, invertebrates and microscopic organisms have been silently invading the Great Lakes, leaving devastation in their wake.

These invasive species are
transforming the ecosystem from top to bottom, pushing some native species to the brink of extinction, and costing the region hundreds of millions of dollars in control costs and lost revenue each year. With more than 180 invasive species in the Great Lakes watershed, and new invasives on the radar, the future of the Great Lakes is at stake.

Narrated by Bill Kurtis, Making Waves traces the path of the invasion and joins researchers on the front lines as they combat invasive species and work to restore native species, in an effort to prevent a biological takeover of the Great Lakes. A panel discussion with Dr. Barb Zielinski from the University of Windsor and Biologist Dan Lebedyk from Essex Region Conservation will follow the film!

Admission is free but registration is required. Visit detroitriver.ca/movie to register.

Happy World Water Day!
March 22nd is World Water Day! This year's theme is 'Nature for Water.' How can nature help overcome water challenges of the 21st century such as floods, drought and water pollution? Protecting existing ecosystems, forests, rivers and wetlands help restore and re-balance the water cycle while improving human health by providing ecological services.

 
Many organizations, agencies, and private landowners partner to help to protect and restore coastal wetlands, shoreline areas, channel habitat as well as upland forest and prairie areas in priority areas of the Detroit River. Some of these areas include the marshes in Canard River, Turkey Creek, along the channel and on Fighting and Peche Islands. To learn more about the variety of projects that have taken place along the Detroit River channel and in the three sub-watersheds, visit the Detroit River Story Map! This new interactive mapping tool shows thirty years of progress along the river to protect, enhance and conserve the river system. Visit www.detroitriver.ca/storymap.   
Funding available under the Great Lakes Protection Initiative and the EcoAction Community Funding Program   
Great Lakes Protection Initiative
Through the Great Lakes Protection Initiative, Environment and Climate Change Canada takes action to address the most significant environmental challenges affecting Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem health by delivering on Canada's commitments under the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
 
To help achieve this goal, the Environment and Climate Change Canada is making funding available to support action by others to:
Applications are now being accepted until March 15, 2018. Applications for projects that support the engaging Indigenous Peoples priority will be accepted until March 30, 2018.
 
To learn more about these funding opportunities and how to apply, please visit  www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/great-lakes-protection/funding
 
For general information on the Great Lakes Protection Initiative, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/great-lakes-protection.html.
   
EcoAction Community Funding Program
Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) EcoAction Community Funding Program is now accepting applications for funding until March 21, 2018, for projects beginning summer 2018.  
Funding is available for new projects that engage Canadians and clearly demonstrate measurable, positive environmental results related to water or climate change. 
 
T o learn more about the 2018 EcoAction Community Funding Program call for proposals, please join us for a webinar on Thursday, February 15th at 1:00 pm EST. Click here for more information and registration (required).  
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!   
The Detroit River in the news. Here are some links to articles that may pique your interest. Click the link  to read on.  
Upcoming Events  
Save the date for these great local events! Contact the organizer for more information. 
Hike It Baby
Saturday March3 1 2018, 7pm to 9pm, Belle Isle Nature Centre, 76 Lakeside Dr, Detroit. 
Hike It Baby is a parents' group dedicated to getting families together and out into nature with newborns and little ones. Hikes are free and open to anyone. Visit hikeitbaby.com or call 313-852-4056 for waivers and more info. Also visit https://belleislenaturecenter.detroitzoo.org/education/hike-it-baby.  
Winter/Spring Hike at Ojibway
Thursdays, March 8 to May 3 2018, 10am to 11:30am, Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Road, Windsor, ON.  
Exercise your body and brain! These brisk morning walks with one of Ojibway Nature Centre's naturalists will introduce you to the many plants and animals in our area. Explore the Ojibway Prairie Complex and meet new friends. Senior discount available. Fee is $50 for seven weeks.
Maple Syrup Festival
Sunday March 4, 2018, 11am to 4pm, John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area. Iler Rd & Essex County Rd 50, Harrow, ON.  
Wear your boots to Essex County's premier Maple Syrup Festival. Make maple taffy in the snow and see syrup being made the pioneer way. Learn the science of maple. Pure maple products for sale. $4 per child, $6 per adult, $20 family maximum. More at erca.org/maple. 
Shifting the Paradigm - Forum 2018
Growing the Native Plant Industry through Innovation and Collaboration
Wednesday, March 7 2018, St. James Cathedral Centre, 65 Church St., Toronto.  
This event is part of Carolinian Canada's Big Picture Collaborative, which aims to reverse the trend of habitat loss in Ontario's Carolinian Zone. Presented by Carolinian Canada and WWF-Canada with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and other partners.  

Registration Information  
  • Full Registration (Daytime session + Social Finance Reception) - $150 - Carolinian Canada Members Price $135
  • Daytime session only (9am-5pm) - $125 - Carolinian Canada Members Price $90
  • Social Finance Reception only (5pm-7pm) - $50
For more information and to register, click here: https://caroliniancanada.ca/events/forum-2018 
Marsh Monitoring Training Workshop
Thursday March 8, 2018, 7pm to 8:30pm, Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Road, Windsor.   
Calling all wetland enthusiasts! Bird Studies Canada (BSC), in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the City of Windsor and the Essex Region Conservation, are looking for wetland enthusiasts willing to adopt a local marsh and spend about 10 hours per year as a volunteer surveyor of aquatic birds and amphibians. The Marsh Monitoring Program offers everyone - from amateur naturalists to professional biologists - a unique and rewarding opportunity to help learn about and conserve Great Lakes amphibians and marsh birds, and their threatened habitats. Refreshments provided. Space is limited, so please register as soon as possible by visiting https://marshmonitoringworkshop.eventbrite.ca.  
Winter Film Series: Superior Lights on the Shipwreck Coast
Saturday March 10 AND Sunday March 11, 2018, 2pm to 4pm, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, 100 The Strand, Detroit, MI. 
Superior Lights on the Shipwreck Coast includes the first lighthouse on Lake Superior, Whitefish Point. Visit with Bertha (Endress) Rollo as she remembers living as a child in the Whitefish Point Lighthouse with her family and grandfather Keeper Robert Carlson. Other Lights featured in this video include Point Iroquois, Crisp's Point and Grand Marais Harbor Lights. Also included is the most famous Great Lakes tragedy, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. More info   HERE
Spring Forward
Sunday March 11, 2018,11am to 3pm, Belle Isle Nature Centre, 176 Lakeside Dr, Detroit. 
Spring forward into Daylight Saving Time while learning about amphibians and amphibian conservation at this annual celebration. The event features the opportunity to hear from keepers who care for the amphibians and learn about amphibian conservation, and includes frog mask making, leapfrog games and storytelling. More info HERE 
March Break Madness
Monday March 12 to Friday March 16, 2018, 10am to 5pm, Point Pelee National Park Visitor Centre, 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington. 
Point Pelee National Park invites families out to the park for their Amazing Scavenger Hunt. Pick up your instructions at the Visitor Centre and look for clues, solve riddles and win a prize.
The Kids' Craft Centre will be in full swing throughout March Break, featuring a different nature craft each day. Colour a bird, butterfly or dragonfly and add it to our migration tree. Take a break and watch a special feature film shown at 11 am and 3 pm. 
Maple March Break
March 13 and March 16, 2018, 1:30pm to 3pm, John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area. Iler Rd & Essex County Rd 50, Harrow, ON.  
Arrive early, dress warmly, and wear boots. Tour the site with a costumed guide and discover the sweet process of maple syrup and sugar making in the pioneer method. Help carry the sap using pails and a wooden yoke. Try your hand at the brace and bit drill. See the trees tapped and the sap evaporating. Learn the history of this sweet springtime treat as you help to make and taste maple sugar. Pay at the door. $4/child, $6/adult, $20 family maximum. More at erca.org/maple. 
Maple Moon
Tuesday March 13, 2018, 7pm to 8:30pm, John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area. Iler Rd & Essex County Rd 50, Harrow, ON.  
Join ERCA for an old-fashioned sugaring off party! Help collect sap and boil it down by moonlight. Make taffy on the snow, join in the barn dance, linger for star gazing and legends. Pre-registration required. $15/person. More at erca.org/maple. 
Essex County Field Naturalists' Club Member Meeting
Wednesday March 14, 2018, 7:30pm, Ojibway Nature Centre. 5200 Matchette Road, Windsor.   
Join the Field Naturalists' for their monthly meeting where Jeremy Bensette will give a presentation about his 2017 Big Year in Ontario birding. 
Nature Tots
Friday March 16 AND Saturday March 17 2018,10am to 12pm, Belle Isle Nature Centre, 176 Lakeside Dr, Detroit, MI. 
Join us for a FREE program for children ages 2-4 and their adult caregivers. Enjoy stories, crafts and activities as we use our senses to explore nature together! Programs will be held on the third Friday and Saturday of each month at the Belle Isle Nature Center.Participants need to register for either the 10 or 11 a.m. session in advance by using the form here.If you have any questions please call (248) 336-5885.
Spring Migration Field Course
Various dates, 8:30am to 12pm unless noted otherwise, various locations.  
Field trips are led by Paul Pratt, with a fee of $16/adult, $14.50/senior each trip (dates are tentative).

March 17, (Saturday) meet at the Tip parking lot, Point Pelee.
April 14, (Saturday) meet at the Visitor Centre, Point Pelee.
Apr 28, (Saturday) meet at the Visitor Centre, Point Pelee.
May 5 (Saturday) meet at the Rondeau Prov Park Visitor Centre.
May 19 (Saturday) meet at the Visitor Centre, Point Pelee at 8:00 am.
May 23 (Wednesday) meet at the Visitor Centre, Point Pelee at 8:00 am.
Stewardship Saturday
Saturday March 17, 2018, 9am to 12pm. Meet on Central Avenue, just east of Portage Way. FYI, this street is listed as Meadow Rd in Google Maps.  
Join the DNR and Belle Isle Conservancy for Stewardship Saturdays. For questions or more information please email Laurel Malvitz-Draper, DNR Resource Steward for the Stewardship Unit at malvitzl@michigan.gov. 
Dark Sky Night
Saturday March 17, 2018, 7pm to 12am. Meet at the Visitor Centre parking lot, Point Pelee National Park, 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington, ON. 
Explore the park on your own after dark and experience the dark skies of Point Pelee. You'll have the opportunity to stay late and see what goes on after dark. Please note that there are no formal programs this evening. Visitor can pick up a seasonal star chart at the gate upon arrival.
Citizens Environment Alliance Annual General Meeting
Saturday March 24 2018, 1pm, Roseland Golf and Curling Club, 455 Kennedy Drive W, Windsor, ON  
All current CEA members and supporters are invited to the CEA's 2018 Annual General Meeting. Current issues will be discussed, last year's accomplishments will be reviewed, new business can be introduced and this year's board members will be elected.
Maple Dinner
Sunday March 25, 2018, 6pm to 9pm, Oxley Estate Winery, 533 Essex County Rd 50, Harrow, ON.  
Join ERCA at Oxley Estate Winery for a maple-themed dinner. Proceeds from this event go towards the Essex Region Conservation Foundation for cultural heritage to protect and restore the John R. Park Homestead. Cost to be announced. For reservations call 519-738-3264. 


The DRCC initiative is a partnership between government, industry, academics, as well as environmental and community organizations that work together to improve the Detroit River ecosystem through a Remedial Action Plan. Our main goal is to remove the River from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern.