Nancy Astin is adamant — she built a wetland on her Oro-Medonte property, not a swamp.
While the average person may not know the difference between a swamp and a wetland, she does and she’s not shy about sharing it with whomever might be within earshot.
“Swamps have a negative connotation,” said Astin, a retired school teacher, as she and her husband Steve, a retired police officer, showed a visitor around their 110-acre farm on Oro-Medonte’s Line 8 North, just west of Highway 11. “Most people don’t understand the importance of a wetland; it’s nature’s sponge.
“The habitat it provides connects everything on the farm,” she added.
According to Nancy, the recently created wetland, which traps and slowly releases surface water, rain, snowmelt, groundwater and flood waters, is doing exactly what she hoped it would — it’s become the centre of the universe for deer, porcupines, raccoons and other creatures who have been attracted to the site and are now either permanent residents or regular visitors.
Designed and built under the direction of the experts from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA), the Astins’ wetland earned them an LSRCA Healthy Land award. The award celebrates improvement projects that help support and protect natural heritage features including woodlands, wetlands and their functions; wildlife habitat; biodiversity and ecological restoration; soil erosion; and trail development.
Started in April and completed in June, the Astins’ wetland project transformed a swath of useless land into a veritable oasis for a large number of creatures.
They admit to spending long stretches doing nothing but watching the comings-and-goings at their private wetland.
The best part is the Astins can hang out as long as they want and they’re never bothered by mosquitoes, a swamp’s biggest nuisance.
“We’ve got at least eight different varieties of dragonflies back here. There’s never any mosquitoes,” Steve said.
The wetland project occupies a small section of a 13-acre parcel of land “outback” that is currently growing native plants. It will be used to grow organic hay next season.
Three small manmade drumlins — oval-shaped hills about one-metre high composed of clay and covered with top soil — mark one end of the wetland. Seeded with a native seed mix and stabilized with native plantings, both trees and shrubs, the drumlins have become home to a wide variety of birds.
Beyond the drumlins sits the wetland — a carefully executed series of interconnecting ‘ponds’ that are almost dry now but are flush and full of life from spring to summer. Sculpted by huge earth-moving machines, the wetland looks like it’s been there forever.
What appear to be random wood and rock piles are actually strategically located, designed specifically to attract various animals, insects and reptiles.
Some of the trees that ended up being used in the wetland came from the almost 10,000 the Astins have planted on the farm since buying it 30 years ago.
“We’ve been working with LSRCA since we came here,” Steve said. “We planted a couple of thousand trees when we first got here and have planted thousands more.
“Then we worked with them to plant cover crops to reduce and prevent erosion,” he added.
Committed to eco-solutions — there’s two electric vehicles in the driveway and two large 5.2-kilowatt solar collectors in the field next to the house — the Astins are proof that individuals can make a difference when it comes to the environment.
“People are reluctant to take that first small step because they think they’re powerless, but you're not,” said Nancy. “If you’re true stewards of the land, you’ll find a way — there’s lot of things you can do.”
One of the best tips she can provide is to build a relationship with your local conservation authority.
“They’re the experts and they’re more than willing to share their expertise,” Nancy said. “We couldn’t have done this by ourselves.”
