ALUS Norfolk Growing Ecosystem services on Marginal Farmland

Casey Whitelock Program Coordinator ALUS Norfolk [email protected] What is ALUS?

VISION • Alternative Services (ALUS) has a simple, yet revolutionary goal…create a healthy landscape that sustains , wildlife and natural spaces for all Canadians. ALUS Principals • Community-developed • Farmer-delivered • Targeted • Market Driven • Voluntary • Integrated • Accountable • Science-based

Ecosystem Services

Creation  Water Control

 Riparian Buffer  Capture

 Pollinator Habitat  Water Retention

 Windbreak/Shelterbelt  Flood Control

Control  Carbon Sequestration

 Soil Amendment  Enhancement

 Water Purification  Air Purification

 The list goes on... Wetlands

Before

After Wetlands

Before

After 76 Wetlands created or enhanced

34 acres Tallgrass Prairie Tallgrass Prairie

245 Grassland projects 711 acres Reforestation

287 Reforestation projects 573 acres • 154 Participants

• 926 Projects

• 1318 Acres and growing Science Driven

ALUS has supported 3rd party research on a variety of topics:

• Studies of Bobolink and Related • Expansion of the Pollination Service on Agricultural Lands in Measurement (PSM) concept in Southern Norfolk County Ontario – Jon McCracken, Bird Studies Canada 2012 – Thomas Woodcock, Environment Canada 2013

• How Habitat Influences Native • Supporting Environmental Stewardship Pollinators in Intensive Agricultural and Livelihood Benefits in Ontario’s Landscapes Greenbelt: Assessing the Potential – Caitlin Paterson, University of Guelph 2014 Contribution of the Alternative Land Use Services Program • Community Composition Change of – Bruce Mackenzie, University of Waterloo 2008 Pollinating Insects on Farms Enrolled in Alternative Land Use Services Pilot • A Benefit Transfer Tool for Valuing Project in Norfolk County Nature’s Benefits to Society from ALUS – Courtney Irvine, University of Guelph 2012 Farmlands – Delta Waterfowl Foundation 2013 ALUS Norfolk is Generously Supported by: