Rouge Valley Conservation Centre

06/02/2026

Join us at the Greenwood Conservation Area in Duffins Creek to release our newest batch of Atlantic Salmon alevin, with our friends at OFAH Membership. If you would like to join us this Friday June 5th 2026 at 10:30 am please let us know by email - education@rvcc. Please let us know your name and how many are joining you and we shall provide further details. Help us Bring Back the Salmon https://www.bringbackthesalmon.ca/.

06/02/2026

In the green forest (nostalgic reference), Patty the Beaver begins to build her dam.

05/29/2026

The yellow lady slipper orchids rely on a highly specific symbiotic fungus to germinate and utilize an ingenious insect-trap mechanism for pollination. One of the Rouge Valleys unique and sensitive plants.

05/27/2026

The latest on Northeast Pickering and Pickering Lands here: https://nationalobserver.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8a5c2f8a9bec5f4fc7aae8406&id=209a00912c&e=77696157a4

05/26/2026

05/26/2026

The invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an emerging threat to Ontario’s horticulture industry and natural areas. Although there are no confirmed established populations in Ontario at this time, SLF has caused widespread impacts in several nearby U.S. states. Awareness and early detection are key to helping prevent its spread.

Be on the lookout for egg masses and nymphs in the wild, and all life stages on imported goods. Be sure to inspect outdoor surfaces such as patio furniture, fences, vehicles, and equipment, where egg masses may be found.
If you spot SLF at any life stage, remember:

🔍 SPOT IT
Learn how to identify SLF and stay alert in outdoor spaces and on transported materials.

📸 SNAP IT
Take clear photos of the insect or egg mass to support identification.

🫙 CATCH IT
If possible, safely collect or destroy the insect or egg mass.

📢 REPORT IT
Report sightings to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Learn more about Spotted Lanternfly here: https://bit.ly/38TXN38

05/26/2026

The Greenbelt scandal never really ended. It was just pushed downstream.

Its objectives are now being advanced through policy changes, tribunal cases, infrastructure permissions, and local planning decisions that are reshaping the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Over the past six months, STORM has reviewed 865 planning decisions, 89 tribunal case files, and hundreds of news articles to better understand how development pressure is being advanced across the ORM.

We’re ready to share what we found — and help residents identify red flags, take action, and prepare for the coming municipal elections and Greenbelt review.

Join STORM Coalition on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at the Uxbridge Historical Centre for a public research briefing, community discussion, and program launch.

The decisions being made now will shape the ORM for years to come.

RSVP: www.stormcoalition.com/events/our-orm
Space is limited.

05/25/2026

Scientists are increasingly worried that a vast system of ocean circulation, which delivers warmth to northern Europe and impacts climate globally, is at risk of collapse. Mounting evidence suggests it may be nearing a tipping point, though the research is far from certain.

05/23/2026

Pickering's proposed message to Ottawa is that farming on the Federal Lands has no value and that a national park creates no jobs – a direct contradiction of the powerful, fact-based submissions from every major farming organization and environmental group.

Their recommended submission to Transport Canada is as inaccurate as it is bleak, promoting fallacies and misinformation, with the obvious goal of paving Class 1 soil for status quo employment sprawl.

Our position is clear: no expropriated Crown farmland should be sacrificed for more commercial or industrial development. Durham Region and the GTHA already have plenty of land set aside for such purposes. Furthermore, the federal government has a moral duty to deliver a "public good" here. Commercial and industrial sprawl doesn’t meet that test:https://landoverlandings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1-The-Federal-Governments-Moral-Duty-.pdf

The unprecedented opportunity to protect this irreplaceable Crown asset in a national park must be embraced by the City of Pickering. These lands must not be diminished and hidden behind an industrial wall of "manufacturing, transportation/ warehousing (including warehousing and storage and data centres), wholesale trade, and construction," as suggested in the SGL Report to Council (p. 22).

The SGL report also contains these mind-boggling claims (pp. 72/73):

“We do not anticipate additional benefit to the City of Pickering from agricultural or Rouge National Urban Park (“RNUP”) designations since these represent ‘status quo’ use of the Pickering Federal Lands.”

and

“It is difficult to predict what, if any, additional agricultural jobs would be created within expanded agricultural uses or the RNUP.”

Had the consultants done their homework, they would have found that our community-funded Ag Study has answered exactly that: https://landoverlandings.com/resources/a-future-for-the-lands-economic-impact-of-remaining-pickering-federal-lands-if-returned-to-permanent-agriculture/

Pickering’s handling of this truly important issue has been a shoddy mess from the start. Will councillors call out this embarrassment for what it is? Or will they fall victim to staff spin yet again?

The full report and the recommendation to Council for the Monday, May 25, council meeting are here (see item 11.2): https://surl.li/znbvbu

Have your say - “Expand the Rouge with ALL the Pickering Lands!” Contact Pickering Council here: https://www.pickering.ca/council-city-administration/mayor-and-council/

05/23/2026

World Turtle Day takes place annually on May 23. However, there has been little meaningful change to improve the city landscape for turtle conservation, protection and recovery over my lifetime. A major and simple solution in the world of building to protect the economy, is to build ecopassages and wildlife fencing to protect turtles and ecosystems. These simple solutions could be implemented on every road construction project in the GTA .. of which there are many. There are also highly effective mapping tools available to focus these efforts on where it is most needed. Making it dead simple for politicians, planners and engineers.