KILLALOE – The Ottawa River Institute and Bonnechere River Watershed Project launched the Nature in Your Neighbourhood guide on October 17, at the Friendship Club in Killaloe.
Many locals gathered in the small space to learn about the guide, as well as watch two of the four videos that can be viewed on YouTube.
Along with the physical guide, there is an online addition that has links to websites where you can gather more information, or see a map of rivers, trails and other excellent adventures.
You can find the online version on www.ottawariverinstitute.ca or www.BonnechereRiver.ca.
There were three main writers for the guide, Ole Hendrickson, Cheryl Keetch, and Kathy Lindsay, who all ventured along the Bonnechere Watershed in order to gather information for the project.
The guide consists of information on the Bonnechere Watershed, spanning from the head waters in Algonquin Park down to the Ottawa River.
It was originally aimed towards those who live in the area and want to get a better idea of what this beautiful river has to offer, but once they began to research, they realized that it is also a great way for tourists to see what it is we love some much about this region.
“This project was funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” Lindsay said. “It was a joint application from the Ottawa River Institute and the Bonnechere River Watershed Project, and so we worked together as organizations to propose this work to Trillium, and they liked the collaboration.”
The videos were a mixture of what we need to do in order to help the environment, and prepare the younger generations on the importance of our ecosystems.
With Leo Freemark working the camera, it gave Lindsay and the others time to interview those with opinions and hints on how we can keep the watershed beautiful and safe for the creatures that live in, and around it.
Freemark is currently enrolled in the Broadcasting – Television program at Algonquin College, and after co-oping with TV Cogeco, they gave him permission to borrow the equipment required for the project.
“They knew Leo, they knew he knew how to use the equipment, he was being professionally trained, so they were quite comfortable with that,” Lindsay said.
In order to produce the videos, Lindsay and Freemark had to travel throughout the area in hopes to capture the beauty of the river.
“We had to do a lot of travelling in the watershed,” Lindsay said, adding that Hendrickson actually paddled the river himself from Algonquin Park to the Ottawa River.
Story continues in the October 24, 2012 issue of The Valley Gazette.