On Thursday, November 12, 2009 the Muskoka Watershed Council and the Muskoka Heritage Foundation hosted a lecture by Ministry of the Environment Biostatistician Dr. Keith Somers. The lecture focussed on the water quality data collected by the District Municipality of Muskoka and other organizations and provided an overview of how Muskoka's water quality is changing.

Presentation: Muskoka's Water Quality: An Analysis of the Data From Your Lake given by Dr. Keith Somers.

On Thursday, July 23, 2009 the Muskoka Watershed Council and the Muskoka Heritage Foundation hosted a lecture by Ministry of the Environment Research Scientist Dr. Andrew Paterson. The lecture focussed on algae and our lakes and highlighted research undertaken on Three Mile Lake, Brandy Lake and Lake Joseph.

Presentation: Algae & Our Lakes given by Dr. Andrew Paterson.

Learn about:
  ▪  Principles for visitor and tourism management
  ▪  Best practices for ecotourism
  ▪  Opportunities for Muskoka Tourism operators
  ▪  How we can showcase Our Muskoka

Speakers:

Paul Eagles is a professor at the University of Waterloo and an environmental planner with a broad interest in the application of applied ecology and planning theory to environmental conservation.  

Robin Tapley is the creator and driving force behind Nature Trails, a soft wilderness nature adventure program designed to introduce people to the natural beauty and wildlife of Muskoka.

Ella Kokotsis is Director of Analytical Studies for the University of Toronto G8 Research Group. She served on the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy's Task Force on Foreign Policy and Sustainability in preparation for the 1995 G7 Halifax Summit.

On Thursday July 31, 2008 the Muskoka Watershed Council and the Muskoka Heritage Foundation hosted a lecture by top scientists from the Dorset Environmental Science Centre.  The lecture was given in three parts.

Part 1:  Overview of the Dorset Environmental Science Centre given by Dr. Keith Somers

Part 2:  The Acid Rain Story given by Dr. Norman Yan

Part 3:  The P Story: Why Are Our Lakes Losing Phosphorus given by Dr. Andrew Paterson

The lectures highlighted several articles that have been published by the Dorset Environmental Science Centre in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (Volume 65 Number 5, May 2008).  Full articles are available by clicking on the links below.

1.   An introduction to the Dorset special issue: transforming understanding of factors that regulate aquatic ecosystems on the southern Canadian Shield.

2.   Relationship between dissolved organic carbon concentrations, weather, and acidification in small Boreal Shield lakes.

3.   Influence of seasonal changes in runoff and extreme events in dissolved organic carbon trends in wetlands and upland- draining streams.

4.   Long-term trends in catchment export and lake concentrations of base cations in the Dorset study areas, central Ontario.

5.   Estimating calcium weathering rates and future lake calcium concentrations in the Muskoka-Haliburton region of Ontario.

6.   Drought-induced metal releases from a wetland at Plastic Lake, central Ontario.

7.   Long-term changes in phytoplankton composition in seven Canadian Shield lakes in response to multiple anthropogenic stressors.

8.   Long-term trends in zooplankton of Dorset, Ontario, lakes: the probable interactive effects of changes in pH, total phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon and predators.

9.   Regional climate drivers of synchronous zooplankton dynamics in north-temperate lakes.

10. Response of benthic macroinvertebrate communities to El Nino related drought events in six upland streams in south-central Ontario.

11. Changes in littoral benthic macroinvertebrate communities in relation to water chemistry in 17 Precambrian Shield lakes.

12. Temporal and spatial concordance in community composition of phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, crayfish and fish on the Precambrian Shield.

13. Long-term assessment of ecological effects of anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems from paleoecological analyses: challenges to perspectives of lake management.

On Thursday April 24, 2008 the Muskoka Watershed Council and the Muskoka Heritage Foundation hosted a lecture by Ontario Panel on Climate Adaptation Co-Chair Dr. David Pearson.  The lecture focussed on climate change and its potential future impact in Muskoka.

On Thursday February 28, 2008 the Muskoka Watershed Council and the Muskoka Heritage Foundation hosted a lecture by Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller. The lecture focussed on the findings of the 2006/2007 ECO annual report "Reconciling our Priorities."

Presentation: Reconciling our Priorities given by Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario.

Visit the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario website to learn about what your rights are under the Environmental Bill of Rights.

Download your copy of the 2006/2007 annual report "Reconciling our Priorities."