Friends of Second Marsh

We had a very successful season of Plant Stewardship in 2024. Thanks to all those who came out and put their hands to the cause! We could not have done it without you. 2024 highlights and 2025 sneak peaks are below. 2024 Plant Stewardship Highlights Season: April to November Areas managed (3): Oshawa Second Marsh, McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve, FSM property Volunteer days: 30 Volunteer attendance: 140 Volunteer hours: 657 hr including 246 hours of field work (that’s equivalent to $16,000 of in-kind work!) Dominant introduced plant species managed (9): Dog Strangling Vine, European Buckthorn, Garlic Mustard, Goutweed, Himalayan Balsam, Wild Parsnip, Woodland Angelica, Yellow Iris, Mock Strawberry Preferred tree/shrub species planted (16): including White Oak, Eastern White Cedar, Sugar Maple, Nannyberry, Eastern Ninebark, Pagoda Dogwood et al. Preferred herbaceous species planted or seeds started (41): including Blue Vervain, Grass-leaved Goldenrod, Wild Strawberry, Common Wood Sedge, Big Bluestem, Starry False Solomon’s Seal et al. Mark your 2025 calendar!  There are lots of Plant Stewardship activities planned for 2025 to manage dominant introduced species and plant preferred species. The first activity is on March 1, 2025 -- Cold Sowing Workshop (indoor activity to sow native seeds in recycled containers). On-site activities begin in earnest in April. Plan to join us and continue this great biodiversity restoration work with Friends of Second Marsh.

Today is Giving Tuesday. Support Friends of Second Marsh and our Love the Marsh! Campaign. Year 2 of our Love the Marsh! campaign is underway. The goal of this campaign is to raise funds for our operations, programs and infrastructure projects. One of our priority projects is to replace a valuable viewing platform at Second Marsh and the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve. The much-loved platform was removed due to its age and unsafe condition. The viewing platform was a great location to see the Oshawa Second Marsh and the waterfowl that use the area. To learn more about our Love the Marsh! campaign or to donate, visit here: https://lnkd.in/ec3kCk-K Share this post with family and friends who might be interested in making a difference locally and supporting an environmental organization. #GivingTuesday #GiveLocally #LoveTheMarsh #FriendsOfSecondMarsh #Oshawa #SecondMarsh #NaturalHeritage #CulturalHeritage #OntarioWetlands Pictures: Original viewing tower that was taken down in 2023.

Our Winter Sowing Workshop was a great success. Thanks to all of our volunteers, we have sown seeds for 26 species of native plants. These seeds will be kept outdoors over the winter. We will be monitoring their growth. Once the seedlings are big enough, we will move them to the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve, to help improve biodiversity in this area. We are planning on holding another Winter Sowing Workshop in February. Watch our social media and website events calendar for a date and time. #LoveTheMarsh #FriendsOfSecondMarsh #Oshawa #SecondMarsh #NaturalHeritage #CulturalHeritage #OntarioWetlands #wintersowing #coldstradification

Celebrating with Us! To celebrate several milestones, members of FSM were joined by Todd McCarthy, Acting Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Jennifer French, MPP for Oshawa, Regional Chair John Henry, Oshawa Deputy Mayor Bob Chapman and Councillors Marimpietri, Gray and Giberson, as well as representatives from the General Motors Canada, Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, Ontario Power Generation and the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood. This is year 5 of our Let’s De-Phrag the Marsh! Project. The Project focuses on the management of Invasive Phragmites in the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve, the area east of Oshawa Second Marsh. Thanks to Ontario’s Great Lakes Local Action Fund (Round 2), FSM was able to manage 19 areas of Invasive Phragmites in the fall of 2023. The total area treated was 1.55 hectares (3.82 acres). The managed Phragmites units have made room for native plant species to move in and the area can now be used as valuable habitat. We took a short hike to look at the status of two of our Phragmites management areas. We also celebrated year one of the Love the Marsh! Campaign. This is a five-year $500,000 fundraising campaign that was launched in October 2023. Campaign funds are and will be channeled to increased public programming, community outreach, plant stewardship, the new viewing platform, educational signage and seasonal washrooms – all of which will improve the experience of visitors of all ages. To date, Love the Marsh! has raised over $50,000. We concluded with the launch of our Love the Marsh Art! initiative. Thanks to the generosity of Oshawa Impressions of Nature artist, Terry Gill, we are fortunate to be the recipient of his original artwork to sell. The proceeds will go to FSM. We were able to thank Terry in person at the event. Photos: aj groen #LoveTheMarsh #FriendsOfSecondMarsh #Oshawa #SecondMarsh #NaturalHeritage #CulturalHeritage #OntarioWetlands

Our fall newsletter (October/November) has been published. Take a look at what we have accomplished to date. Our newsletters are available for viewing through our website. Use this link: https://lnkd.in/eMaZ9ceC #LoveTheMarsh #FriendsOfSecondMarsh #Oshawa #SecondMarsh #NaturalHeritage #CulturalHeritage #OntarioWetlands City of Oshawa

Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos from our Nature Photography Hike.

Come visit us at our booth during the 2nd Annual Durham Region Volunteer Fair on November 13. Learn about volunteer opportunities and see how you can become involved with Friends of Second Marsh. #volunteer #environment

Proud to join today’s celebration in City of Oshawa recognizing the incredible work of Friends of Second Marsh in tackling invasive phragmites with support from the Great Lakes Local Action Fund. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to protecting and preserving our natural spaces.

Putting down some roots... Thank you to all the volunteers who helped us put some native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants in the ground. We are looking forward to seeing these grow and provide much needed habitat and food for the wildlife that uses the area. This planting is part of our Improving Biodiversity through Plant Stewardship at Second Marsh and McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve Project. This project is funded by Ontario Power Generation’s Regional Biodiversity Grant Program. Photos: aj groen

Volunteers Needed! FSM will be doing a planting on the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve on Saturday, October 26. We will be putting in the ground preferred (native) trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Please use the link to register, if you are interested in participating. https://lnkd.in/dCYSvQRk Registration for the event closes on Friday, October 25 at noon. This planting is part of our Improving Biodiversity through Plant Stewardship at Second Marsh and McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve Project. This project is funded by Ontario Power Generation’s Regional Biodiversity Grant Program.