For more than 20 years, we’ve been tracking the health of the environmental conditions in the Credit River Watershed. Since the start, we’ve come a long way with how we communicate our findings with the public.
After years of studying the watershed’s ecosystems, we are proud to present an exciting new product: the Integrated Watershed Monitoring Program (IWMP) StoryMap Collection. This interactive tool lets you explore some of the top stories in our monitoring program, including:
- Our Climate is Changing
- Stream Chlorides are on the Rise
- Our Forests are Stressed
- Sensitive Species are Disappearing
- Urban Wetlands are Home to Wildlife
The ecosystems we monitor in IWMP – groundwater, streams, forests and wetlands – each provide life-supporting benefits like clean air, clean drinking water, flood protection and recreation. Changes on the land and in the water can affect the health of these ecosystems. For example, since European settlement, we’ve lost about one third of the Credit River Watershed’s wetlands to agriculture and urbanization, especially in the lower urbanized watershed. Because they are smaller and more isolated from one another, urban wetlands usually have lower biodiversity than rural wetlands. Wetlands, including urban ones, provide many life-supporting benefits, like protecting against flood, cleaning water, fighting climate change, and providing habitat.
To learn more about the health of ecosystems in the watershed and how you can take action to help protect, restore, and enhance our local natural environment, check out the IWMP StoryMap Collection.
Want to chat more about the StoryMap? Connect with us on LinkedIn.
By: Adrienne Ockenden, Specialist, Watershed Monitoring