According to conservation scientists, Windsor, Ontario is the ecological hotspot for Canada with more species at risk than anywhere in the country. It is also notorious for flooding. Neither should be a surprise because the wetlands and prairies – both critically endangered ecosystems – have been largely taken over by industries, businesses, urban residences and agriculture. But native ecosystems and species thrive to a surprising extent when they are given a chance, even if some bits are human-made.
This all came into sharp focus when we held a Road Ecology Workshop in Windsor at the tail end of April. Caldwell First Nation opened and closed us in ceremony and joined us with their stewardship team. The City of Windsor, Parks Canada, Wildlife Preservation Canada, other local conservationists, Kari Gunson of EcoKare International and the Wildlands’ team of Katie Hayashi and I rounded out the participation. Kari is an expert in road ecology and demonstrated how roads and other infrastructure really choke off the movement of species between habitat patches by blocking them or becoming the scene of lethal games of chance, where only the very lucky get through. Kari also painted a more hopeful picture: that with barriers that keep critters off the roads and direct them to overpasses or underpasses, they can move about more safely and get to the (often very different) habitats they need to reproduce and find shelter, food, water and space.
In glorious spring warmth we visited huge prairie-covered highway overpasses that allow at-risk Eastern Fox Snakes, Butler’s Garter Snakes and more common species to cross 4-lane highways alongside cyclists and pedestrians. At a smaller scale, we saw where appropriate fencing and special culverts can help slow-moving turtles, snakes and frogs navigate suburban thoroughfares at a relatively low price. Of course, the ecopassages will not be used if they don’t connect healthy habitat, so the establishment of the new National Urban Park to permanently safeguard the Ojibway Prairie complex under law and the maintenance and restoration of ecological corridors as green links to the broader landscape are vital.
We glimpsed the vision of how a restored Turkey Creek could act as such a corridor with some modifications to existing bridges. With thoughtful and creative planning, a bit of investment and education, one can look around even a heavily-urbanized area and see how habitat patches large and small can be knit together to keep life going where it needs to go to thrive. With this mindset, even a hydro transmission line with restored prairie between the pylons becomes a living pathway for wildlife.
We left Windsor amazed at the foresight of planners, politicians and public pressure to plan for some spectacular wildlife crossing infrastructure, but also determined to find ways to make sure nature protection, restoration and connection is maintained and enhanced for the future.
Stay tuned as Wildlands League continues the Road Ecology and Ecological Corridor journey with our second workshop in Rouge National Urban Park Area in Scarborough and Pickering, supported by a generous grant from the Greenbelt Foundation.
We hope you are informed, surprised and maybe inspired to support this work. Looking for more? Check out our past blog on our very first road ecology workshop in Rouge National Urban Park, or view more photos from the Windsor workshop, here.
This workshop was made possible by Carolinian Canada’s project Activating Big Picture Ecological Corridors in Ethical Space, funded by Parks Canada.
To learn more about the Nature Connectivity Project, please visit our website.
Dave Pearce
Senior Forest Conservation Manager
