Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

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Friends of the Muskoka Watershed

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FOTMW is a charity protecting Muskoka watersheds forever. We are science-based and solution-focused.

FOTMW is a registered charity focussed on the protection, wise management & remediation of Muskoka watersheds by fostering applied, diagnostic & strategic research.

11/02/2026

It's SALTYNovember. Learn how to reduce your excessive road salt usage. - https://mailchi.mp/fotmw.org/under-the-surface-december-2021-update-from-friends-15525804-476ymifpai-18002393

11/02/2026

It’s SALTYNovember. What do you do to reduce your excessive road salt usage?
Get your green cup. That cup holds enough salt to treat an average driveway or ten sidewalk squares.

10/30/2026

Guy Pattison from Leech Lake is a longtime FOTMW supporter who provided generous funding to purchase this new piece of scientific test equipment. Thank you!!!

The Microsecond Timer is non-destructive testing tool for trees. It has been designed to help determine the structural soundness of trees by measuring time-of-flight on a single path. The measured travel time is indicative of either solid wood or a problem area caused by decay, fungus or other structural damage.

Wood from trees grown at chronically low Calcium (Ca) levels, like those in Muskoka in soil depleted after decades of acid rain, have 30-50% weaker wood. With this new tool, we can measure and we hope to show that restoring the Ca nutrition of trees can increase wood strength (the strength of new wood) and thus damage from ice and windstorms.
Thanks to our Trent University partners
Ushmee Bhattacharjee - 4th-year Environmental and Resource Science student currently completing an honours thesis project. Ushmee’s honours thesis examines snail (mollusk) abundance and diversity following NIWA treatment in a mixed hardwood forest.

Ainsley Taggett - 2nd-year Master’s student in the Environmental & Life Sciences program. Ainsley’s master’s thesis examines the passive recovery of non-vascular species in mine-impacted landscapes to inform restoration strategies.

Victor Bewsh - 2nd-year PhD student in the Environmental & Life Sciences program. My master’s and PhD theses examine the use of calcium-rich soil amendments in central Ontario forests impacted by soil acidification.

And FOTMW Project Lead Alesha Breckenridge for unboxing this exciting new tool.
It’s now going to be tested and best practices determined.
We will report back when we’ve tested the instrument!

10/28/2026

Check out the snail trap! Ushmee Bhattacharjee is 4th-year Environmental and Resource Science student currently completing an honours thesis project. Ushmee’s honours thesis examines snail (mollusk) abundance and diversity following non industrial wood ash treatment in a mixed hardwood forest. This day, she was at Camp Big Canoe! Minutes after we stopped recording and left the forest, they found snails!

10/27/2026

The addition of donated calcium-rich wood ash has helped grow healthier trees at Camp Big Canoe. But there are so many other ways that adding ash can have a positive impact.
Our next video will feature the snail traps. Stay tuned!

10/20/2026

Our new ash filter proved that we know how to work smarter! Less dust, less hauling of heavy ash and less physical labour. We had over 700 kg of ash donated at our first drive of the fall ash drive season on October 1. Thanks to a kind longtime supporter who designed and donated money for the new sifter. A big thanks also to Bracebridge Machine who built the new sifter and donated back a portion of the cost to FOTMW. Thank you!
Our next ash drive is November 21.

10/17/2026

Wonder is that powerful feeling of awe sparked by beauty, surprise, or the unknown. Watershed Wonders invites you to experience the Muskoka Watershed as an environmental marvel—where breathtaking landscapes, unexpected biodiversity, and deeply rooted natural systems reveal a region unlike any other. This watershed isn’t just scenic—it’s the heart of our cultural heritage and the backbone of our local economy.

Visit the MDC today! - Book online and get a 10% discount - https://realmuskoka.com/muskoka-steamships/schedule-tickets/

10/17/2026

It’s ASHMuskoka drive day!! Saturday, Oct 17 from 9:30 am to 1 pm.
Join us at Rosewarne transfer site with your ash today! Check out our new ash sifter! And we have a treat of Werthers, fisherman’s Friend and Great Canadian Meat for our first 20 donors from . Thank you!

10/16/2026

Come visit us at Bala Cranberry Festival on Friday, October 16 from 10 to 5. Bring a sample from your lake, river or creek and we can check your chloride levels, from road salt, with our sensor. Learn about ASHMuskoka too. Our next drive is tomorrow.

Address

PO Box 416
Bracebridge, ON
P1L1T7

Telephone

+17056400948

Website

http://www.fotmw.org/

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