2015 Riparian Rangers- Etobicoke and Mimico creek Watershed- Project Report Mike McMillan Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) 12/2/2015 [RIPARIAN RANGERS- ETOBICOKE AND MIMICO CREEK WATERSHED-PROJECT REPORT] December 2, 2015 Table of Contents Executive Summary—Riparian Rangers (Etobicoke)..................................................................................... 5 Valleywood Park Restoration Area ............................................................................................................... 6 Wildwood Park Restoration Area ............................................................................................................... 12 Wildwood Park Restoration Area D1 ...................................................................................................... 12 Wildwood Park Restoration Area D2 ...................................................................................................... 20 Wildwood Park Restoration Area D3 ...................................................................................................... 28 Wildwood Park Restoration Areas T15 & T4 – Spring 2015 ........................................................................ 36 Wildwood Park Restoration Area T15 – May 22, 2015 ........................................................................... 36 Wildwood Park Restoration Area T4 – June 11, 2015 ............................................................................ 39 Performance Measures ............................................................................................................................... 43 In-Kind Contributions .............................................................................................................................. 43 Financial Contributions ........................................................................................................................... 43 Species And Habitat ................................................................................................................................ 43 Shoreline And Trails ................................................................................................................................ 44 Water Quality .......................................................................................................................................... 44 Stormwater Management ...................................................................................................................... 44 Clean-Up.................................................................................................................................................. 44 Monitoring And Conservation ................................................................................................................ 45 Educational Measures ............................................................................................................................. 45 Community Engagement/Knowledge Transfer ....................................................................................... 45 Tracking Plant Growth ................................................................................................................................ 47 Valleywood Park Restoration Area ......................................................................................................... 47 Wildwood Park Restoration Area D1 ...................................................................................................... 48 Wildwood Park Restoration Area D2 ...................................................................................................... 49 Wildwood Park Restoration Area D3 ...................................................................................................... 50 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 51 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 51 Appendix 1: Educational Materials ............................................................................................................ 53 Native Species in Riparian Rangers ......................................................................................................... 53 Invasive Species ...................................................................................................................................... 54 Riparian Rangers Etobicoke Program ..................................................................................................... 56 Riparian Rangers Etobicoke: Safety Briefing ........................................................................................... 58 [ACER] | Executive Summary—Riparian Rangers (Etobicoke) 2 [RIPARIAN RANGERS- ETOBICOKE AND MIMICO CREEK WATERSHED-PROJECT REPORT] December 2, 2015 List of Figures Figure 1: Valleywood Park Restoration Area ................................................................................................ 6 Figure 2: Sketch Map for species monitored at Valleywood Park Restoration area .................................... 9 Figure 3: GPS map showing the monitored plant species ............................................................................ 9 Figure 4: Valleywood Restoration site before planting .............................................................................. 11 Figure 5: Valleywood Restoration site after planting ................................................................................. 11 Figure 6: Students after removing Buckthorn and picking up litter ........................................................... 11 Figure 7: Students after successfully removing Buckthorn......................................................................... 11 Figure 8: Students removing Buckthorn ..................................................................................................... 11 Figure 9: Wildwood Park Restoration Areas D1, D2 and D3 ....................................................................... 12 Figure 10: Sketch Map for Wildwood Park Restoration Area D1................................................................ 17 Figure 11: Map showing monitored plant species using GPS ..................................................................... 17 Figure 13: Students being trained to perform young tree monitoring ....................................................... 19 Figure 14: Students planting native species ............................................................................................... 19 Figure 12: Wildwood Park Restoration Area D1 after planting .................................................................. 19 Figure 15: Wildwood Park Restoration Area D1 before planting ............................................................... 19 Figure 16: Students pulling out young Buckthorn with extractor .............................................................. 19 Figure 17: Sketch map of the Wildwood Park Restoration Area D2 ........................................................... 25 Figure 18: Map showing monitored plant species using GPS ..................................................................... 25 Figure 19: Students planting native species ............................................................................................... 27 Figure 20: Wildwood Park restoration Area D2 .......................................................................................... 27 Figure 21: Students monitoring the planted native Species ....................................................................... 27 Figure 22: Students cleaning up litter around the planting area ................................................................ 27 Figure 23: Students pulling out the invasive species Garlic Mustard ......................................................... 27 Figure 24: Sketch Map for Wildwood Park Restoration Area D3................................................................ 33 Figure 25: GPS map showing monitored plant species at Wildwood Park Restoration Area D3 ............... 33 Figure 26: Students learning TRCA planting protocol before planting ....................................................... 35 Figure 27: Students planting native species ............................................................................................... 35 Figure 28: Students monitoring young tree ................................................................................................ 35 Figure 29: Students pulling out Garlic Mustard .......................................................................................... 35 Figure 30: Students pulling out Buckthorn ................................................................................................. 35 Figure 31: Wildwood Park Restoration Areas T15 and T4 .......................................................................... 36 Figure 32: GPS map showing monitored plant species at Wildwood Park Restoration Areas T15 ............ 39 Figure 33: GPS map showing monitored plant species at Wildwood Park Restoration Areas T15 & T4 .... 42 Figure 34: Species survival rate at Valleywood Park ................................................................................... 47 Figure 35: Intraspecies mortality rate at Valleywood park........................................................................