February 2nd isn’t just about groundhogs and
shadows. It’s also World Wetlands Day, the day the Convention on Wetlands was
adopted in 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian
Sea. To read more about Ramsar Convention of Wetlands, please click here.
World Wetlands Day 2013 focused on the relationship between
water and wetlands and reflected on the
interdependence between water and wetlands and the key role that wetlands play.
Wetlands - marshes, bogs, fens and swamps - are an essential part of the water
cycle and they play an important role in ensuring water quality. Wetlands are
places we want to protect as primary sources of vital drinking water.
Wetlands are also essential to our environment - they filter
pollutants from our water, help control floods, and provide habitat for
numerous wildlife species, including many on the endangered list. A total of 33
per cent of Ontario and 14 per cent of Canada is wetland. Unfortunately, as
much as 80 per cent of Ontario's wetlands have been lost to urbanization.
Here in Hamilton, we are fortunate to have one of the
largest – and relatively undisturbed - swamps in southwestern Ontario, the Beverly Swamp. Located in Flamborough, this
wetland is the source area for Spencer, Grindstone and Fairchild creeks and
features a rich diversity of plant and animal life, including some that are
rare to the Hamilton region.
We also are fortunate to have the Copetown Bog, a biologically
significant bog that contains plants representative of Arctic muskeg vegetation,
such as cranberries, pitcher plants, and sundew plants. "Summit Bog"
is a wetland containing an island of sphagnum moss floating atop a bed of peat.
Plants that prefer wet, acidic, and nutrient-poor conditions grow in and around
the area. Because of its sensitivity, public use is not encouraged. However,
the bog can be viewed from the Hamilton-to-Brantford Rail Trail, located just
east of Highway 52 at Copetown.
The Vinemount Swamp is the largest wetland in the east end
of the City of Hamilton and offers visitors a chance to see a wetland up close.
It encompasses the headwaters of both
Stoney Creek and Forty Mile Creek and provides a significant amount of
discharge to those streams. Although it does not rival the Beverly Swamp in
overall size, it does have many similar features. It’s definitely a place close to the City
where you can get away to the quiet and beauty of Nature in minutes.
So the next time you use water to brush your teeth, make
your coffee or shower in the morning, think about the wetland the water most
likely spent part of its life slowly filtering through. And imagine what your life would be like
without the abundance of water and wetlands that Hamilton has to offer.
To learn more about wetlands and their importance in our
ecosystems please visit: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Biodiversity/2ColumnSubPage/STDPROD_070619.html
Lindsay Davidson
HCA Information Officer
Hamilton Conservation Authority
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