The 2021 Field Crew consisted of post-secondary students Francisco Sanchez and Nick LeClair, as well as high school students Sam Pastoor and Marika Dykstra. WRIG was also lucky to have intern Tessa Craig stay on for the summer after leading the 2020 field crew and interning with WRIG over the winter! The Field Crew had a great season and accomplished a lot of work this summer, improving habitat and water quality all around the Wheatley River.
- 415 native trees & shrubs were planted on 13 separate parcels of land in the watershed; 100 trees were given away during River Clyde Pageant and duck race events.
- A total of 5.14 km of stream were cleared, mainly along the South branch of the Wheatley River (4.7 km) and Hornes Creek (0.44 km), which was especially efficient with the help of our chainsaw technician!
- Over 650 feet of brush mats were built on the South branch of the Wheatley River!
- Water quality monitoring was conducted at 20 sites throughout the watershed on a weekly basis. Staff recorded temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, pH, and nitrates at each site.
- Anoxia surveys were conducted at 8 sites between the Wheatley River Bridge and Oyster Bed Bridge estuary every 3 weeks (5 events). Staff recorded temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, pH, and signs of anoxia (i.e., water clarity & colour, sea lettuce coverage & condition, and H2S odour).
- Shoreline/beach clean-ups were conducted several times throughout the season in conjunction with the Hunter-Clyde and Trout River watershed groups.
- All tree swallow, American kestrel, and wood duck nesting boxes were monitored and maintained by WRIG staff throughout the spring, summer and fall.
- The Rackham’s Pond area was maintained on a weekly basis and a few new projects were achieved: 2 new benches were added to the pond area thanks to generous sponsorships; WRIG staff cut a new trail on the East side of the pond, as well as maintaining the trail on the west side; and, we rebuilt the pedestrian footbridge across the outlet of the pond to access the new trail!
