GBLT Upcoming News & Events
"The property which I donated to the Land Trust was purchased many years ago. After some development into private cottage lots, which created much discourse and opposing factions on the lake, Mr. Wally King contacted me with the suggestion of donating the property to the GBLT in order to preserve the property in its natural state for future generations. Upon considering his suggestion we agreed to donate this significant property to the Georgian Bay Land Trust knowing that it would be protected forever."
Patrick Stark regales Ojibway Club with tales of his kayak adventure
Patrick Stark regales Ojibway Club with tales of his kayak adventure
On Sunday, August 16, a crowd gathered in the movie hut at the Ojibway Club
in Pointe au Baril to hear Patrick Stark talk about his 2008 kayak adventure. The incredible trip saw him circumnavigating Georgian Bay for 40 days and 40 nights, raising awareness about the GBLT.
People were fascinated by the stories, and of course the pictures, which highlighted some of the most incredible examples of the Georgian Bay coast and showed the contrast of the local environment as you travel around the Bay.
A big thank you to Patrick for telling his captivating story again, and to the PaBIA Naturalist Club, and particulary Ed Garner, for helping to organize the event.
Event Date:
Aug 27, 2010
Hole-in-One Challenge takes 'water trap' to a whole new level
Hole-in-One Challenge takes 'water trap' to a whole new level
by Sue Grundy
A brave golfer goes for the long drive.
This year’s Go Home Bay fundraiser for the Georgian Bay Land Trust was a “Hole in One” golf challenge at the Grundy cottage on Saturday July 24. The “challenge” was to hit a target (a golf flag inside a styrofoam life ring) in a small bay off the entrance to the Grundy’s harbour. Each golfer had four chances (with floating golf balls) to hit the target from a driving range tee on a platform beside the cottage. Later, there was a “longest drive” competition from the dock to see who could drive a ball farthest into the bay.
Bob Duncanson watches his trajectory, hoping for the best!
About 25 golfers participated, and about the same number of supporters came to watch, cheer, heckle and support the GBLT. Some players were in full golf mode with their own clubs, proper golf attire, golf gloves etc., while others tried their luck with a borrowed club and bare feet or flip-flops. Hitting the target was harder than it looked – one golfer pointed out that “when the target is in the water, there’s no roll on the green!”.
Overall, the day was a big success for the GBLT, raising over $3200.
Many thanks to Janet Lougheed for organizational support, Tom Reis and his team for their work as the range crew retrieving the balls, and to Julia Reis and her assistants in providing refreshments.
Event Date:
Aug 27, 2010
Announcing the Spring Thaw Contest Winners!
This spring marked our first ever Spring Thaw contest, which encouraged Georgian Bay enthusiasts to submit stories and photos of spring on the Bay. The submissions that came in were wonderful, with photos of creatures great and small, stories of start-of-season adventures, and images of lingering ice and brave polar bear swims all celebrating one thrilling season!
Though all the submissions were fantastic, our judges were, with much difficulty, eventually able to pick a couple winners. So, without further ado - your Spring Thaw winners!
Photo Category
Due to the large number of photo entries, we have chosen three honourable mentions and one winner.
First Place - Marianne King-Wilson (Parry Sound)
Marianne says: "The ice was still hugging the far shores, but breaking up in the foreground near the shoreline of the old town beach and the Sail Parry Sound property on March 16, 2010 around 5 PM when I took this photo of a lone kayaker out to enjoy the calm, gorgeous sunset."
Honourable Mention - Burnley McDougall
Burnley says: "Our Newfy, Martha, is a persistent muskrat hunter on our dock. She got a babe in her mouth and when I made her drop it, the baby lay on the rock in front of me." (And yes, the wee muskrat did survive!)
Honourable Mention - Dianne Carmichael (Cognashene)
Dianne says: "April 3rd 2010 opening weekend at the Carmichael Cottage, Tabbasakwa Island. First swim of the season! Ice flows, 42F water and Sunny 28C weather!"
Honourable Mention - Barb Nettleton (Sans Souci)
Story Category
First Place - "Spring 1999" by Carl Spiess (Key Harbour)
I may have the best story. In March/April 1999, my wife Jennifer and I went up to Key Harbour to watch the ice melt with our kids. The original idea was to go in by skidoo, and out by boat. But since our twin boys were less than a year old, it took quite a while to pack and prepare for a month without a grocery trip. We eventually went in by scoot (air boat) in mid March, while there was still ice almost everywhere. The local residents were kind enough to ferry us in on their scoots, as we had around 15 Rubbermaid bins full of food, supplies and diapers. Riding in a scoot is quite an adventure, and is not for the faint of heart.
Our boys Phillip and Geoffrey celebrated their first birthday while we were up there, and moved from mostly crawling to confidently walking during that month. We had the entire community of Key Harbour (in total: 11 of us) over for Easter dinner. It was great experience.
I was managing the GBA and then GBLT websites at the time and used really slow dial up internet access to also do work remotely for the month. We took a half dozen DVDs with us to watch on our laptop, and over the entire month, we only got to watch two of them. Keeping the wood fires stoked at night and eventually getting the water running were our biggest challenges; well that and keeping the kids entertained.
I did get to windsurf one afternoon:
Honourable Mention - "Thoughts about Spring on the Bay" by Mary Bromley (Manitou)
There is a ritual around our first dinner of the season on the Bay. We always read
the note that was placed under the Rockman's armpit last fall...Rockman... that heap of rocks that stands stoically at the helm of the island enduring all seasons and never letting us down as the news of family/nature/and politics stew and percolate over winter and comes to us as if from R.man himself, full of forgotten and poignant details of life last year and getting us thinking about what this year
has in store.
The droughts on the outer Georgian Bay Islands usually don't begin til June but
this May we saw things drying up around the edges more quickly.
With only about one rock pond left and evaporated almost down to nothing the tadpoles were fighting for their lives so I started filling the pond up with more water in some desperate attempt to turn the tide on the dreaded drought. Of course, I hadn't noticed the garter snake enjoying this amphibian soup until I interrupted its meal and it had to slither away.
For two days, the pale yellow elegant swallowtail butterflies were in abundance
fluttering and flitting mostly amongst the purple lilacs which were in profusion this spring. I've never seen so many pass through before. At the same time
there were Red Admirals (butterflies) and a multitude of the 'short-version'
dragonflies - those ones with the shorter bodies - making it seem like a busy
airport with nowhere to land.
I found out something interesting about geese. The few that come to eat the
lettuce shoots in the garden seem to drop their weight in poop in no time at all...BUT a flock of about 50 landed for a migration rest on a shoal too close to our water intake pipe. They were there for about 3/4 of an hour and after they
carried on their journey I went to see what they left behind. Almost nothing.
Phew. They take this migrating business seriously and travel light.
Sadly, we see many fewer birds pass through during migration (except for
geese!). The warbler count is down from about 25 different kinds to about half that number.
It amazes us that the only time we see fox snakes is when the birds are in the
nest, just ripe for eating. They travel up and down all the trees and the
cacophony of flapping bird wings and plaintive warning calls from parents is
heartbreaking. I saw a grackle come to the rescue of a red-eyed vireo nest
and actually attack the snake right out of the tree. It is a miracle that any birds
are alive to leave the nest. But then the snake has to eat too. Perhaps
the birds are more at risk because we no longer have the frogs that fox snakes used to eat as well. And I am guilty bringing cats into the mix although they seem more interested in rodents.
We finally had rain. Those thunderheads that line up and down the coast so
rarely come out where we are and I have to admit I suffer from
'drought-anxiety' when weeks go by without a drop of rain. So I am now taking a sigh of relief. Everything on the island has come alive again. For now. Maybe it's time to test the fire pump.
With rain hopefully there will be blueberries and other delicacies for the bears further inland this year. They were swimming island to island desperate for food last year. Last year was our first encounter...My cats still look out the window at the cottage with a degree of wariness where a bear started to pull off the molding. Let's hope they are not so interested in cottages this summer.
Things are changing, like the water level, but
. the birds still know how to build nests and look after their young
. the snakes still know when the eggs/birds are in the nest
. the flowers still bloom in time for the butterflies and the ruby-throat
. and the insects come in time to feed the baby birds
And it's still breathtaking to witness the changing winds and waves, making it seem like we're on a ship at sea at times. We are lucky to have the time to
watch it all and look forward to another summer on the Bay.
I will be emailing all winners and honourable mentions by the end of the week regarding your prizes, so keep an eye on your inbox. Thank you to our judges, and thank you to everyone who entered and made the contest so great!
Event Date:
Aug 17, 2010
Quintet Brings Music to the Bay
In photo (L-R): Praise Lam, Cecilia Chan, Natalie Kemerer, Felix Deak, Elspeth Thompson
Photo by Deedi Ward
-by Peter & Cynthia Kemerer
On Saturday, July 17th, a gorgeous Georgian Bay day with bright sun and a fresh breeze, a number of fortunate summer residents gathered at the lovely cottage of William and Kathleen Davis in Cognashene for a chamber music concert performed by the Georgian Bay Quintet.
The brainchild of Cynthia and Natalie Kemerer, the concert was conceived as a fundraiser for the GBLT. It was enthusiastically adopted by the GBLT, and the arrangements and organization made by Chris Baines, Janet Lougheed and the GBLT staff. Natalie organized the musicians and the music program. The players are all professional musicians active with a number of orchestras in Ontario. The members of the group were:
Praise Lam - first violin
Cecilia Chan - second violin
Elspeth Thompson - viola
Felix Deak - cello
Natalie Kemerer - double bass
Since the ticket sales had no central registry, we were apprehensive that there would be a small crowd. Imagine our delight when more than 50 people turned out for the concert. They were treated to a program in a most intimate setting of:
Doizetti - Introduzione
Mozart - Divertimento
Corelli - Cocerto Grosso #10
Elgar - Serenade for Strings.
The music was played with sensitivity and musicality and was warmly received and applauded by the audience, which was much appreciated by the musicians. Wendy Cooper gave an update of GBLT happenings at half time, and William Davis gave a closing summing up, praising the Ontario musicians and the Ontario wine. The big thrill of the day was the final proceeds of $2,565 for the event. Many thanks to our hosts and all that helped on the day of the concert.
Maybe an encore in 2011??
In photo (L-R): William Davis, Praise Lam
Photo by Deedi Ward
Event Date:
Jul 17, 2010
Multitude Attend Rock Walk on Wreck
Photo by Jessica Bartram
(For more photos from the Walk, click here!)
The morning of July 25th dawned bright and blue-skied on the Bay, perfect weather for a walk on the shores of Wreck Island. By noon, nearly 100 people had gathered at Wreck's docks, ready to head out on a walk led by Geologist Nick Eyles (who also provided his expertise at the 2010 GBLT Winterlude event this past February).
Once introductions had been made, the huge group set out, following Eyles to the outer shore of the island for a crash course in the origin, formation, evolution and future of the rocks on which we so often walk. As he paused at various fascinating formations and began to talk about them, the shore suddenly became more than just a patchwork of glittering, gorgeous rocks - instead, the crowd became privy to the secret life of the crystalline quartz, the dramatic birth of migmatic dykes, and found out what Scientists really think of gneiss.
The questions flew thickly throughout the walk, as attendees found out all they'd ever wanted to know about their beloved rocks, and an hour and a half flew by in the blink of an eye, leaving everyone with heads full of new information with which they can now dazzle visitors and friends up on the Bay.
The afternoon ended back on the shore by the docks, as people enjoyed the sunshine and the picnics they'd brought, and got a chance to ask Nick any questions that hadn't been addressed on the walk and chat with their fellow attendees.
The GBLT would like to thank everyone who came out on Sunday for their enthusiasm - you all made this an absolutely amazing event!
Photo by Jessica Bartram
Event Date:
Jul 26, 2010
The Georgian Bay Land Trust seeks to preserve the unique archipelago and the adjacent water bodies which lie along the eastern shore and North Channel of Georgian Bay that are of ecological, geological and historical importance, and to promote the appreciation of this special area.