Weather is always a topic of conversation and in March, we started lamb-like and then the lion roared in mid-March. Up and down – do we really want the certainty that comes with being further north, out of the various depression tracks that meander across southern Ontario?
Probably not if you like spring in late March. I was made aware of an archaic term: APRICITY: the warmth of the sun on a winter’s day. Nice ring to it, eh? We should start using it again, though here in Windsor, it is March that has that pleasing combination of strong sun and cool weather. 

 

For me, it is the arrival of Turkey vultures, gliding and tipping their wings over the city in early March, that is surely a sign of spring. I know some stay here in the winter, but not many. Similarly, Junco start trilling from the tree tops in March before they leave us to go north of the Great Lakes. By mid-April, those found in Jackson Park throughout the winter have largely gone, to be replaced by the similarly sounding Chipping Sparrows.

 

Photo - Eastern towhee at Black Oak Heritage Park

The first Earth Day was on 22 April, 1970. Since then it has become an annual event to celebrate Mother Earth and to support local community environmental actions. Some passionate organisations have expanded their celebrations to call it Earth Week or even April as Earth Month!

 

On Saturday, 21 April, 1990, the Little River Enhancement Group (Lil’ Reg) and partners organise our first Earth Day celebration by participating in a river cleanup in Little River Corridor Park (LRCPark) in East Windsor. Since then, we have celebrated 11 Earth Day cleanups in the park. Additionally, our partnership has celebrated Earth Day by planting trees and shrubs 11 times in LRCPark.

Our partnership included: Browning-Ferris Industries, Casino Windsor, City of Windsor, Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, Essex County Nature, Essex Region Conservation Authority and Unifor Local 200.

 

On Sunday, 23 April, 2023 from 10 a.m. to noon, the Essex Region Conservation Authority invited community volunteers and their “Green Teams” to help plant 1600 native trees in Little River Corridor Park.

The Egrets team consisted of team captain Cathy Lapain and member JoAnn Grondin.  We were also joined by two of Cathy’s sisters:  Peg Mills and Kenlyn Bryant. I started counting around 7:00 am by spotting one of the Bald Eagles that nest on Fighting Island and the Mute Swans that hang around the Island.   We met in Essex at 7:30 am.  Once Kenlyn’s van was loaded with all our supplies, we headed out on the backroads towards Point Pelee, watching the fields and ditches for birds.  The traffic entering the Point was not too heavy so we were able to enter the Point but unable to get to the main parking lot or the tip. Staff directed us to turn into Black Willow Beach.  This parking lot was full so we backtracked to the Madbin Jina area, across from DeLaurier.  

 

We spent some time there.  We birded from the parking lot and sitting at a picnic table; we also had our packed lunches there.  To start with, the birds flew in sections and we were able to get several species of birds.  From there we went across the road to the DeLaurier parking lot. 

Essex County Nature and the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) created a tree planting project to help the WindsorEssex Community Foundation (WECF) celebrate their 40^th Anniversary. Our idea was to plant 40 native trees in a natural area or park in the Detroit River Watershed. Gina and I filled out the WECF application form for funding and we were successful 40 Years, 40 Trees was a GO!

 

We contacted the City of Windsor through the Parks Department and requested their help in finding an appropriate site for planting. After meeting at Derwent Park in East Windsor, it was agreed the plan would work there. It would include a grove of trees at the north end of the future perimeter trail and trees would be planted alongside the trail as it followed the perimeter fence. We scheduled Saturday, 13 May, 2023 for the event.

 

There were 45 community volunteers that included: children, their parents and grandparents, the staff and Board members of ERCA and the WindsorEssex Community Foundation. They planted 40 very large native trees. How large were they you ask, the largest trees we have ever planted!

A Blue jay complaining about the heat in Windsor. Photo submitted by Carl Maiolani