Tignish Watershed Management Group

10/13/2026

🍁 Fall Colours Around Our Watersheds! 🍂

There's something special about this time of year in western PEI. Our ponds and waterways are surrounded by beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow.

But have you ever wondered why leaves change colour?

As the days get shorter and temperatures begin to cool, trees produce less chlorophyll, the green pigment that helps them capture sunlight. As the green fades, the yellow and orange pigments become visible, while some trees produce the brilliant reds we see in autumn.

It's one of nature's most beautiful seasonal changes!

🍁 What's your favourite fall colour?

09/19/2026

09/19/2026

💙 Look who wandered 1 km upstream!

Our trail camera caught this beautiful Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) making use of one of our freshwater streams — about 1 km upstream from the coast.

We often associate Great Blue Herons with PEI’s bays, estuaries and salt marshes, but they’re also quite happy to follow waterways inland in search of a good meal. Western PEI’s mix of coastal areas, wetlands, rivers and freshwater streams gives these birds plenty of places to forage.

Great Blue Herons are the largest herons in North America. They’re patient hunters, often standing almost perfectly still or slowly stalking through shallow water before making a lightning-fast strike. Fish are a favourite, but frogs, snakes and other small animals can also be on the menu.

Seeing one this far upstream is also a nice reminder that our streams don’t exist on their own. From small headwaters and freshwater tributaries all the way downstream to our estuaries and coast, these connected habitats support wildlife in ways we don't always get to see.

That’s one of our favourite things about trail cameras — catching a glimpse of who is using the watershed when we aren’t around. 📸🌿

And this visitor certainly knew where to stop for lunch! 🐟

09/18/2026

Up West Forest Fest Walks — Space Still Available:

Saturday's Up West Forest Fest features unique locations for walks, and many still have space:
Morning:
10AM walk at Cedar Dunes with Daniel McRae
10AM Mushroom Walk with Rosemary Curley at Trout River Natural Area
10:30AM Forest and River walk in Lauretta with Rosie MacFarlane and Danny Murphy
11AM Riparian Zone Meader with Kaylee Busniuk at Trout River Natural Area
And in the Afternoon:
1:30PM Ellerslie Bog and iNaturalist Walk with Emma Ladouceur

And there will be walks at Bloomfield Provincial Park, in addition to the children's activities, displays and demonstrations, music, and noontime BBQ!
See you at the Up West Forest Fest — celebrating the forests and watersheds of Western PEI!
www.upfestforestfest.ca

09/17/2026

🌿 Adding Wood Back to Our Rivers

TWMG recently had the opportunity to take part in an exciting fish habitat project led by Danny Murphy and his crew at Roseville/Miminegash Watersheds Inc. within their watershed.

For many years, stream restoration often focused on removing fallen trees and woody debris to improve fish passage and help sediment move downstream. While removing problem blockages is still important, we are learning more about the valuable role wood can play in a healthy river.

Strategically placed trees can provide cover for fish, create deeper pools and different flow patterns, and provide habitat for aquatic insects and other important food sources. 🐟🌲

Before any changes were made, detailed baseline information was collected. Electrofishing helped establish existing fish numbers, surveying determined stream slope, and cross-sections documented water depth, pools, channel characteristics and woody debris already present. This gives the team valuable information to compare with future monitoring.

PEI Forestry assisted with cutting the trees that had been predetermined for placement in the river.

Along with Danny and his crew and TWMG, the project included Mary Finch, PEI Ecologist; Rosie MacFarlane, PEI Biologist; Karalee McAskill, PEI Watershed Coordinator with Forest, Fish and Wildlife; and PEI Forestry.

For TWMG, being invited to help was a great hands-on training opportunity. We were able to learn new techniques and another approach to improving fish habitat while working alongside our watershed neighbours.

Now comes the exciting part — seeing how the river responds over time!

A great project led by Danny and his crew, and a great learning experience for TWMG. 🌲🐟💧

09/15/2026

🍄🌧️ Have you noticed the mushrooms this year?

All this damp weather may not be everyone's favourite, but the fungi certainly seem to be enjoying it!

While working in our watershed areas, we've been noticing an incredible variety of mushrooms popping up on the forest floor — reds, oranges, yellows, whites, purples and some pretty unusual shapes.

What we call a mushroom is actually just the fruiting body of a much larger fungus. Much of the organism remains hidden in the soil, leaf litter or decaying wood as a network called mycelium. When moisture and other conditions are right, the mushrooms appear above ground and produce spores.

And fungi have a very important job in our forests. They help break down leaves, wood and other organic material, recycle nutrients back into the soil and form important relationships with trees and other plants. They also provide food and habitat for many other organisms.

Some of the mushrooms we've found appear to include coral and club fungi, colourful waxcap-type mushrooms and webcaps, along with several others we're still working on identifying. And that's part of the fun — PEI has far more fungal diversity than most of us realize! 🍄

⚠️ A little reminder for mushroom foragers: Never eat a wild mushroom based on a photograph or an online identification alone. Some edible mushrooms have very poisonous look-alikes.

And if you're heading out to forage, please ask permission before entering or collecting on private property. When you do find a good patch, don't take everything. Leave some mushrooms behind to continue producing spores and, just as importantly, leave some for everyone else — wildlife and fellow mushroom hunters included.

Sometimes damp fall weather gives us some pretty amazing things to discover. 🍂🍄🌲

09/09/2026

Up West Forest Fest Walks Registration

Opening 6PM, Wed., Sept. 9th
The Up West Forest Fest on Saturday, September 19th has nine walks scheduled in West Prince, and five of these limit participant numbers to make the experience the best for all.

Registration is required for those walks and can be done anytime after 6PM tonight (Sept. 9th) through the Registration Link at each Walk's description at

You will have your registration confirmed by email (or you will be notified if the walk is full). There will be some waitlists kept, but there are walks going on that don't require registration that will be fun and informative!
People could attend a walk in the morning and the afternoon, if they wish.

Up West Forest Fest Sept 19th Walks requiring registration:
Morning:
Walk #1 — Lennox Island: A Cultural Walk on a Nature Trail, walk starts at 10AM
Walk #3 — Cedar Dunes: Where Sands Meets Swamp; Exploring a Truly Unique Island Habitat, walk starts at 10AM
Walk #4 — Lauretta: The River Runs Through It — Where Forest Meets the Miminegash River, walk starts at 10:30AM

Afternoon:
Walk #7 — Trout River Riparian Zone Natural Area: Edible & Medicinal Plants, walk starts at 1:30PM
Walk #8 — Ellerslie Bog Walk and iNaturalist, walk starts at 1:30PM

And walks not requiring registration:
Morning:
Walk #2 — Trout River Riparian Zone Natural Area: Mushroom Walk with Rosemary Curley, walk starts at 10AM
Walk #5 — Trout River Riparian Zone Natural Area: Riparian Zone Wander, walk starts at 11AM

Afternoon:
Walk #6 — Bloomfield Provincial Park: Hidden Ecology, walk starts at 1:30PM
Walk #9 — Bloomfield Provincial Park: Trees, Shrubs and Insects of Bloomfield Park in 30 Minutes, walk starts at 2PM

The walks will go ahead rain (reasonable amounts of rain) or shine.

The hub of Bloomfield Provincial Park will have children's activities, music, displays and a noontime BBQ, and walks, too!

For more information, see the website upwestforestfest.ca, or contact gmail

09/04/2026

Up West Forest Fest in Two Weeks! — Saturday, September 19th
Plan on heading to West Prince to celebrate their unique watersheds and forests at the second annual Up West Forest Fest! This all-ages friendly event will feature a hub at Bloomfield Provincial Park, 38093 Western Highway, from 10AM-3PM on Saturday, September 19th, with music, displays, children's activities and a noontime BBQ!
There will be walks at Bloomfield AND seven special walks in Prince County highlighting different ecosystems happening throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Among the walks — morning:
"A Cultural Walk on a Nature Trail" at Lennox Island
"Mushroom Walk" at Trout River Natural Area
"Where Sands Meet Swamp: Exploring a Truly Unique Island Habitat" at Cedar Dunes Park
"The River Runs Through It: Where Forest Meets the Miminegash River"
"Riparian Zone Meader" at Trout River Natural Area

Afternoon Walks include:
"Hidden Ecology" at Bloomfield Provincial Park
"Edible and Medicinal Plants" at Trout River Natural Area
"Ellerslie Bog Walk" with special iNaturalist Focus
"Trees, Shrubs and Insects of Bloomfield Provincial Park in 30 Minutes"

**Please note that most of the walks have a maximum number that can attend and Pre-Registration will be required.**

More information on the walks can be found on our website upwestforestfest.ca, and registration links for the walks will open after Labour Day.

More info about the walks, maps, and highlights of the day coming soon!
A big thanks to all the conservation, nature education, and watershed groups organizing the 2026 Up West Forest Fest, along with support from the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund.

See you on the 19th in Western PEI! The event will happen rain or shine!

09/03/2026

Up West Forest Fest Sept. 19th!
Come to West Prince on Saturday, September 19th for the second annual Up West Forest Fest, celebrating the unique watersheds and forests in western PEI. This free, family-friendly event will be from 10AM-3PM, at a central hub of Bloomfield Provincial Park (38092 Western Highway Rte2) with displays, children’s activities, a noontime BBQ and music PLUS several walks taking place at the Park and at locations throughout Prince County, all showcasing various ecosystems.
The details on the Walks will be announced in the coming week at the main website (http://www.upwestforestfest.ca), the page (https://www.facebook.com/upwestforestfest/), and shared on various organizations’ social media pages! Any questions? Contact [email protected]
The Up West Forest Fest is a collaboration of western PEI watersheds, Nature PEI, the PEI Woodlot Owners Association, Lennox Island First Nation, Island Nature Trust, the PEI Watershed Alliance and more, with funding from the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund. See you there!

09/02/2026

🏖️ Beach Garbage Cans Are Coming In
Our crew has started removing the beach garbage cans for the season. Thank you to everyone who helped keep our beaches clean this summer! Once the cans are gone, please remember to take your garbage with you.
One reminder for next year: please do not put food waste, lobster shells, fish remains or other organic waste in the beach garbage cans. Unfortunately, this continues to happen despite our signs and reminders.
Our crew has to collect and temporarily store these garbage bags before they can be taken to Waste Watch. Food and seafood waste sitting in the bags creates a pretty unpleasant situation — and one that can easily be avoided.
We have limited resources, so please help us out and use the beach cans for regular beach garbage only.
Thank you! 🌊💚 Tignish Area Watershed Management Group