Tis the season for construction!

EOSC is very excited that several of our projects are being implemented this month and next!  Our first pond excavation with Ducks Unlimited broke ground with about 5 more coming very soon!

We are also undertaking an alvar restoration this week with Nature Conservancy Canada!  Volunteers are still welcome!

Nest boxes

Hello landowners!
Any easy and fun way to help wildlife on your property is to erect next boxes!  Many kinds of wildlife nest naturally in cavities in large trees.  However, large trees with cavities have become more rare due to forest clearing and other pressures.  Nest boxes are a way to provide that missing habitat and help wildlife flurish.

Thanks to the Hastings Stewardship Council, EOSC has a limited number of flying squirrel and bluebird nest boxes free to landowners with the right kind of habitat!  Just call to ask if you might have the right habitat.

 Also, nest boxes for wood ducks and other cavity nesters are available through EOSC and Ducks Unlimited.  Landowners with large wetlands may be eligible to receive the boxes for free.  Otherwise the boxes with poles, predator guards, hardware and guides are available for purchase to anyone with a good spot.  Again, just ask!  There is also the opportunity to participate in nest box monitoring with Ducks Unlimited and contribute to the collection of important data used to help protect waterfowl and other wildlife.

If you want to make your own next boxes, we are happy to share info and plans for all the above types as well as the very important bat boxes!  What a great week-end project to do with the kids/grandkids!

It's spring! (sort of)

As the last of the snow banks melt away it's time to turn our thoughts to outdoor pursuits!  If you are considering some projects like wetland restoration, livestock exclusion fencing, nest boxes, tree planting and shoreline restoration, don't put it off any longer- time and funding are slipping away!  Spring is also the perfect time of year for property assessments, so book yours today!

Also, there are still a few spots in the two April volunteer days if you sign up soon!  What could make you feel more like spring than spending an evening listening to frogs call or a day at a bird observatory while the spring migration is on?!

Volunteer Opportunities with EOSC

EOSC is excited to announce that it is coordinating new outdoor volunteer opportunities!  EOSC's collaborative organizations and other partners want to help fill the gap in the availability of quality outdoor experiences in stewardship and conservation while getting some important work done on our landscape.  Several opportunities are now available for registration- starting as early as next week!  More will be coming as the year progresses.  Please click the link at the right to learn more!

Lots going on in 2013 for EOSC!

The EOSC initiative is ramping up for a busy 2013!  We have several restoration projects set to go that will be implemented this summer, we received a large grant from the Great Lakes Guardian Fund to help finance some of these projects, we will be launching a new volunteer program, we have three new partnership programs we are working on and we continue to reach out to landowners to help connect them to resources!  And of course there is the event on Feb.5th!
Details will be coming on all these new things so keep an eye on the website this spring!