Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust

11/04/2026

We could not be more proud of Vanier Public School students! 

For the past three years, students at Vanier Public School - UCDSB have been getting their hands dirty in the name of conservation. Now, their efforts have been recognized by Brockville Rotary and the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust with an award for student-led environmental advocacy!

Read how the school earned the eco-accolades for their conservation work 👉 https://www.ucdsb.on.ca/cms/One.aspx?portalId=148427&pageId=39005187

11/04/2026

🍂📸 Watersheds Canada Do you know why the leaves change colour in the fall? 🍂

As the days get shorter, less and less sunlight is photosynthesized by the leaf. This signals to the leaf to stop making chlorophyll. Once this happens, the green colour starts to fade and the reds, oranges, and yellows in the leaf shine through.

Also, here’s your friendly reminder to leave those leaves where they lie! They act as natural mulch, improve soil health, and benefit countless species of wildlife.

11/02/2026

Every now and again we share the wonderful captures of Amy Scouten because they so beautifully illustrate the simple beauty of our Southeastern Ontario region 💚
📸 Amy Scouten Male northern cardinal in an apple tree

11/01/2026

Pearly Everlasting is another beauty perennial grown in the Pollinator Garden at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre, in Athens.

🛍️ Plants will be available for sale in May 2027 at the TIWLT Native Tree & Plant Sale!

A profusion of blooms attract a variety of pollinators from mid-summer into the fall. Pearly Everlasting is a low-mounding, drought tolerant plant.

⬆️ About 2’ tall, it is a lovely foreground accent for taller plants.
☀️ Part to full-sun and average - dry soil is recommended.
🦋 It is a larval host plant for American Lady and Painted Lady butterflies.

⁉️ DYK - the name Pearly Everlasting comes from two distinctive characteristics of the plants flowers:

– PEARLY refers to the beautiful, small pearl-white structure surrounding its tiny yellow flowers
– EVERLASTING refers to how long these flowers retain their shape and colour after they have finished blooming and drieD. They can remain attractive for a remarkably long time!

10/28/2026

We are focussed on Keystone Connections here at the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust through our conservation efforts and our fundraising. Preserving land that makes connectivity happen! 🌲

📸 Ontario Land Trust Alliance Speaker Spotlight: Calder Schweitzer

We’re excited to welcome Calder Schweitzer to the Ontario Land Trust Alliance Gathering next week!

Calder is the Executive Director of the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust. His passion for conservation is rooted in the complex systems of nature and interactions between species, with a particular interest in community-level ecology. He believes in the power of local, community-based solutions to Climate Change and biodiversity loss and sees Land Trusts as being on the front lines of battling these twin crises.

Calder will be busy at the Gathering, speaking in FUNdraising: It Doesn’t Have to be Scary, and Prepping for Perpetuity: What All Land Trust Leaders Need to Know for Engaging & Retaining Young Professionals, and Innovation in the Land Trust Movement, and Connectivity Conservation.

10/24/2026

It was a SPOOKTACULAR 6th Annual Spooky Species tonight at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre in Athens.

A full house of children and their adults explored a treasure hunt of species, face painted, played shadow games, went fishing for invasive species, roasted marshmallows, ate hotdogs, pinned the tale on the Raccoon, and decided which species Dracula should spend the next 10,000 years transformed into!

Thank you to all the children and adults who came out and shared the evening, and your generous donations. Thank you also to the exceptional group of volunteers, and to our education team of Rebecca and Amy who planned a wonderful night.
🎃

10/23/2026

10/23/2026

These delicate little purple flowers are New England Aster. They are native to North America and typically bloom late in the summer and into the fall. They attract many pollinators, including many varieties of bees and butterflies.

They like part sun, and moist soil.

We will be selling the fall blooming NATIVE New England Aster, shown in the photos, at our plant sale in the spring of 2027.

We will be selling these plants among many others from our pollinator garden in May 2027 at our annual Native Tree and Plant Sale. Stay tuned for specific dates and times.

10/22/2026

Tomorrow night! At the Glen Elbe Learning Centre!

Halloween Fun at TIWLT!! 🎃👻
Children – grab your favourite adult(s) and join us on Friday, October 23 for TIWLT’s 6th annual SPOOKY SPECIES!

Raccoons, Leeches, Snapping Turtles, Earwigs, and Stink Bugs! Ewwww!

📍Spooky Species is a FREE event in the gardens of the Glen Elbe Learning Centre at 870 County Road 42 in Athens, Ontario. Arrival time is 4:45pm. We finish around 7pm.

✍️REGISTER by emailing [email protected] and letting us know how many kids and adults will be coming.

🦝🐢🪳🪲🐛This is a fun Halloween event meant to demystify certain creatures that are typically known to frighten kids. These are often misunderstood animal species that sometimes seem scary or gross. Through a playfully exciting interactive trick-or-treat trail in the gardens, children will encounter each one of our 5 featured creatures (portrayed by our volunteers) and will learn more about them.

Instead of being frightened – they will come to love these important species.

🔥After trick-or-treating at all 5 Spooky Species, there will be a campfire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows 🌭 and other fun games like co****le and photo stations.

👻🔦Kids are encouraged to come in costume, and please bring your own trick-or-treat bag, and a flashlight if you have one.

Children must be accompanied by an adult. There is free parking at the site. NO pets, please.

🎃We look forward to welcoming community members for this Halloween event focused on education through fun and games!

10/19/2026

This beautiful 🌸Spotted Joe Pyeweed ( Eutrochium maculatum) is one of the great sources of nectar for many pollinators like various species of bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies that visit our Glen Elbe Learning Centre in Athens, Ontario.

Our volunteer team of gardeners like Claudette, have worked with our staff to create stunning gardens. They are are so robust that we are able to split the plants, over-winter them, and sell them in May at our annual Native Tree & Plant sale. The sale usually spans three weekends in May - stay tuned.

Here are some details about 🌸Spotted Joe Pyeweed:

Season of Bloom - July to September
Height - up to 5’
Width- 4 ‘
Colour - prolific pink, flower heads the size of dinner plates
Light Requirements - 6-8 h of full sun
Soil Requirements - heavier soil, moist to wet, well drained
- robust and self-supporting plant

🦋Pollinators: attracts a wide range of native pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths and flies, also hummingbirds which appreciate the nectar

🐝BEES: bumble, leaf cutter, cuckoo and other assorted solitary bees
🦋BUTTERFLIES: Swallowtail, Azures, Ruby Tiger Moth, Monarchs, Red Admirals, skippers
HOST PLANT for a variety of moth caterpillars
🪶*Seed heads provide food for goldfinches, juncos, chickadees, sparrow