One of Canada’s greatest reforestation projects rooted in rural Ontario town
By WorkCabin.ca Staff
ST. WILLIAMS, ON -- It’s one of the greatest stories in Canadian reforestation history. A small rural region in southern Ontario, practically deforested by early pioneers, is now one of the province's natural jewels.
One hundred years after it was built in 1908, the impact of the St. Williams Forestry Station, Canada's first tree nursery, is clear to see. When you arrive at the forestry station just north of the Lake Erie shoreline, giant pines and Carolinian tree species dominate the forests. It's a scene that immediately leaves one in awe. Forests of this kind are almost non-existent in southern Ontario, where population growth and subdivisions are wiping out many natural areas. But Norfolk County and St. Williams aren't like other areas. Despite being less than two hours from Toronto, the area has become a model for restoring forests previously lost to human destruction.
If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the rare Acadian flycatcher, hooded warbler, eastern hognosed snake or black rat snake. It’s a vastly different from more than 150 years ago when parts of Norfolk County, including St. Williams, were transformed into a virtual sandplain desert. Beginning in the late 18th century newly arrived pioneers clear-cut the land for settlements and the lumber industry. Images from the era show such severe erosion that mammoth roots appear completely exposed, resting directly on top of the sand.
Realizing the blight created on the landscape by clear-cutting, wind erosion and drought, the provincial government opened the forestry station in 1908 in St. Williams. The goal was for the station to help reforest vast tracts of southern Ontario. In its first season, more than 300,000 seedlings were planted in St. Williams.
In Norfolk County, designated as the Forestry Capital of Canada, the transformation has been dramatic. The region now boasts about 30 per cent forest cover making it the largest forested region in southern Ontario. What’s even more important is the region is home to Canada’s largest remaining tract of Carolinian forest, a unique ecosystem that thrives because of a warmer climate. Some tree species such as magnolia and sassafrass, more common in North and South Carolina, thrive in this Ontario zone. Today, more than 40 per cent of Canada’s endangered and threatened species live in the Carolinian zone. The forest is now one of the country’s most threatened habitats.
Today the forestry station is no longer a provincially-run operation. It was privatized in 1998 and is now owned by ForestCare. The station remains one of North America's largest producers of tree seedlings, growing more than 25 million annually. The station is also now home to an interpretative centre featuring historical displays and artifacts detailing the history of reforesting the region, as well as nature trails through original tree plantations. The site is also part of the newly created St. Williams Conservation Reserve, a protected area encompassing 1,000 hectares.
In St. Williams, the landscape today shows that damage caused by humans can be corrected. In this case, it took almost 100 years. Perhaps nowhere else in Canada is a there a similar success story.
It's here, in this little village, only hours from sprawling major cities where woodlots disappear everyday, that big lessons can be learned about restoring habitat.
WorkCabin.ca is Canada’s premiere home for conservation jobs.
Posted by on 08/27 at 04:39 PM