Port Carling, 2006

The Natural Heritage Committee assisted the Town of Port Carling and Communities in Bloom volunteers with a major shoreline restoration project to correct a poor situation that had developed over the years at Hanna Park along the Indian River.

One of the key provisions of the Township of Muskoka Lakes’s Waterfront Density Bylaw is that shorelines must be left in a natural state by preserving a riparian buffer of indigenous vegetation. Water’s-edge plantings help contain excessive run-off, act as a natural filter, provide a natural home for birds, animals, and reptiles, and a shady area for fish to spawn and hide from predators.

This project required no heavy lifting in terms of removing rock from the water; all work was done above the high water mark. A wide variety of species native to Muskoka were planted and maintained.