Canoe the Credit for a Great Cause
By: Phil Green
When a child plants a tree, the tree
does not grow alone, for that simple act also plants ideas in the child’s fertile
mind.
The photo below shows two youths from the Conservation Youth Corps planting a tree along the Credit River.
Some of those ideas are small, such as where different types of trees like to live.
Others are bigger and more complex ideas that need nurturing and experience to grow,
such as how planting trees helps fish in nearby rivers, and how trees clean air.
Youths from the Conservation Youth Corps have planted over 20,000 trees along
the Credit River. For many of them, this is their first time in the natural environment.
Paddling on the Credit, you could think you had escaped to the northern wilderness.
Unfortunately, the Credit is also
one of the most stressed watersheds in Ontario. More and more paved
surfaces collect rainwater and funnel it
to the river and its tributaries. Heavy rains, which in a natural watershed would
percolate through forests, wetlands and meadows, swoosh over the pavement into the river, causing erosion and sweeping dirt and pollution
into the river and Lake Ontario.
The simplest way to reduce these problems is to plant trees, and the best way to
plant trees is to give them to our young people to plant. The Canoe the Credit event
raises money to support these youths.
Canoe the Credit
Canoe the Credit, founded by Phil Green, raised over $50,000 for the Conservation
Youth Corps in 2008 and 2009.
May 24, 2009 Canoe the Credit Fundraiser
Photos from the 2009 and 2008 Canoe the Credit events
The Credit River is one of Canada's most stressed watersheds. The Credit Valley Conservation Foundation works to raise funds to support conservation projects in the Credit Valley Watershed.
One such project is the Conservation Youth Corps. In total more than 650 students participated in the Conservation Youth Corp during the spring, summer and fall of 2008 and again in 2009. Each year they planted more than 10,000 native trees and shrubs, and contributed more than 9,000 volunteer hours to our conservation efforts.
These extraordinary efforts also helped control invasive species, construct habitat
for native species such as trout, complete restoration projects such as river bank
stabilization and sediment control, and pick up garbage.
The greatest benefit, however, is perhaps in the minds of the youths who participated.
When a child plants a tree, the tree does not grow alone, for that simple act also
plants ideas in the child’s mind. Most of the youths start the program with no concept
of the natural environment. Their experience creates a bond with nature. They feel
personally responsible to protect it.
