WRIG had another great field season and accomplished a lot of work, improving habitat and water quality all around the Wheatley River and its sub-watersheds. The 2024 WRIG field crew was one of the largest groups to date, and included Sarah MacWilliams, Haley Kennedy, Lilly O’Rielly, Maddy MacLeod, Katie Lowe, and Em Coates. We are very grateful to have received student wage funding from the Skills PEI post-secondary student program, PEI’s Jobs for Youth program, the Canada Summer Jobs program, the Clean Foundation summer internship program, and the PERCÉ internship program.
With a large crew, we accomplished a great deal over 3 months, including a major stream crossing restoration project and tree swallow monitoring & banding. Here is a brief summary of our accomplishments:
- More than 785 native trees and shrubs were planted, watered, and maintained in riparian areas
- 60 trees were donated at our annual river duck race fundraiser
- 2.5 kilometers of stream enhancement completed along the Little Bungay branch of the Wheatley River (removing blockages and improving fish passage)
- Over 25 meters total of brush mats were built to catch sediment in the stream
- 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.
- In-stream measurements were conducted at certain sites to measure streambank erosion and surface water flow rate
- Every 2 weeks, anoxia surveys were conducted by canoe to the Oyster Bed estuary
In June of this year, we worked to restore fish passage at a particularly problematic crossing on the Millboro road by realigning the downstream channel and building a series of rock pools. The rock pools gradually raised the water level in the stream enough to backfill the culvert and remove any elevation distance at the crossing. The banks were then stabilized with rock and the old stream bed was decommissioned. We finished by seeding & mulching the disturbed area after construction and by revegetating the riparian area with native trees and shrubs to provide habitat & cover and to mitigate erosion. We’d like to acknowledge the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) for generously funding this project and continuing to support PEI watershed groups. We would also like to acknowledge the overall project support provided by the PEI Department of Transportation & Infrastructure
WRIG also built and installed 10 tree swallow nesting boxes in the watershed area, with special adaptations for frequent monitoring and bird banding. Staff checked each box 2-3 times each week to monitor for nesting activity. Later, staff continued to monitor closely for eggs and the hatching of the tree swallow chicks. Then, we could calculate the optimal time for banding, wherein each bird was weighed and given a band (a tiny bracelet) with a unique number. Eight of the ten boxes were successful and, in total, 42 tree swallow chicks were banded, and 8 female adults were banded. Banding was completed in partnership with PEI Fish & Wildlife. WRIG staff had the opportunity to help with banding of both adult tree swallows and chicks. These band numbers and information will be entered in The North American Bird Banding Program database, which is used internationally. With these data, we can track population productivity, lifespan cycles, migration and breeding patterns. Additionally, there is potential for recapture if they return to the PEI in the future.
This summer, the WRIG crew had the opportunity to participate in various public events such as the Seafoam Fandango, Environmental Fun Day, Riverbank Heritage Day, the River-Clyde Pageant, and our own Celebrate Our River event (annual duck race fundraiser). WRIG also collaborated with neighbouring watershed groups to conduct shoreline clean-ups, bird surveys, and to provide information to the public at Cavendish beach, and to share learned skills amongst the groups.
