💦 The ultimate family day is waiting… 💦
Get ready to splash, explore, and discover at the Perth Children’s Water Festival!
🐢 Meet incredible wildlife up close with @scales_nature_park
🎣 Test your casting skills at the @fishingfriendzyfoundation exhibit
💧 Dive into 20+ water-themed, hands-on activities
It’s a full afternoon of outdoor fun, learning, and unforgettable moments for curious kids (and their grown-ups too!).
📅 May 24, 1-4 pm
📍 Lower Queens Park, Stratford
💲 FREE
Come make a splash!
Our Watershed Conservation Centre is closed this weekend, including Monday, May 18 for Victoria Day, but @fanshaweconservationarea , @pittockconservationarea and @wildwoodconservationarea are all open and ready for you to explore!
Get outdoors, enjoy nature and have a fun and safe weekend. We hope to see you out there! 🌳🥾🔆
What an exciting evening! Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Children's Water Festival Family Night.💧
It was incredible to see over 1,400 people of all ages learn about water and how to protect it! We enjoyed connecting with each and every one of you.
Another big thank you to the 30+ community organizations that bring this event to life with their support, creative activities, and energy! 💙
Wow! What an incredible first day of the London-Middlesex Children’s Water Festival! 🌊☀️
Over 17 school buses brought hundreds of Grade 2-5 students to @fanshaweconservationarea today to learn about water conservation, science, and technology in a hands-on, exciting way! 😄
We’re looking forward to the rest of the week when more students will join us. ✨ And don’t forget Family Night this Thursday from 5-8 pm when the community is invited to the festival with even more fun like canoeing and food trucks!
Handsome and regal, bald eagles are one of the most recognizable birds in the world. 🦅 While you might often see them flying over Fanshawe Lake, there are many things you may not know about them.
For instance, their name is derived from Old English meaning "white-headed", rather than hairless. A mature adult is mainly brown with a white head, neck and tail. Both sexes have identical plumage, but females are about 25% larger. Juvenile birds do not obtain the distinctive adult feathers until they are four or five years old. 🪶
In the late 20th century, bald eagles were on the brink of extirpation due to hunting, habitat loss and pesticide ingestion. Measures, such as banning the use of DDT in the 1970s and other recovery efforts, slowed their decline. Populations recovered and their status was downgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" in 1995 and by 2007, they were removed entirely from the list. 🙌🏼
Find out a whole lot more about this majestic bird in our Thames River Current newsletter: thamesriver.on.ca/bald-eagles (link in bio)
This year's Visitor Guide is here and in a new format featuring all three Conservation Areas (CAs)! Visiting a CA soon? Pick one up at our Gatehouse or Registration Office and read about all the unique features of @fanshaweconservationarea , @pittockconservationarea and @wildwoodconservationarea ! Can't wait? Check out the online version at the linktree in our bio and start planning your visit!
Turns out “touch grass professionally” is actually a pretty accurate job description. 👌🌿
We’re hiring seasonal staff at @fanshaweconservationarea , @wildwoodconservationarea , and @pittockconservationarea including:
• Maintenance
• Lifeguards
• Events and Customer Service
• Security
🌞 Spend your summer outdoors and apply today at thamesriver.on.ca/employment-opportunities (link in bio!)
We are so excited for the annual Emergency Preparedness Day event! Be sure to stop by our booth tomorrow to try the flooding simulator, crack a River Safety puzzle clue, and grab take‑home materials for the whole family!
📆 Saturday, May 9
🕘 9am to 3pm
📍 Fanshawe College (1001 Fanshawe College Blvd)
Event details: london.ca/emergency
This year's Emergency Preparedness Week theme is "Be Prepared. Know Your Risks". This is especially important when dealing with the unexpected rise of floodwaters! Here are a few helpful tips:
✅Make a family emergency plan and be prepared with a 72-hour emergency kit.
✅Find out which media outlets will post flood information.
✅Follow emergency instructions and evacuate if necessary.
✅Do not walk or drive through fast moving water.
✅After a flood, only return home once you have been advised it is safe.
Check out our new flood preparedness factsheet for more info! #emergencypreparednessweek
Besides flood control, did you know that Wildwood and Pittock Reservoirs have a second, equally important role? These reservoirs also increase downstream flows in the summer and fall. ☀🍂
UTRCA engineers follow an annual operating cycle where the reservoirs are at their lowest at the start of the year (winter holding level). The low reservoirs have room to store snowmelt and winter/spring rain, which is used to fill the reservoirs for their summer conservation level.
In late June, the water is gradually released, increasing flows downstream to benefit water quality and aquatic habitat. 💧🐟 By early December, both reservoirs will have been drawn back down to their winter holding level.
Emergency Preparedness Week serves as an important reminder that floods can happen at any time of the year! April marked the 89th anniversary of the 1937 Thames River flood, when six inches of rain fell over five days. Communities in the Upper Thames River watershed were devastated by flooding that caused five deaths and property damage that reached $3 million in 1937 dollars.
The 1937 event remains the highest recorded flood on the Thames River and is considered equivalent to a 1:250-year return period flood (0.4% chance of occurring in any year).
Stay tuned to our social media for flood preparedness tips! #emergencypreparednessweek
📸photo 1: Downtown St. Marys
📸photo 2: Ingersoll
📸photo 3: Lake Victoria, Stratford
📸photo 4: The Coves, London
📸photo 5: Empress Ave., London
If you rely on a private well for your drinking water, it is your responsibility to ensure that your water remains safe. 🚰 Protecting the area around your well is one of the most effective ways to maintain clean, safe drinking water for you and your family.
You can help safeguard your drinking water by following these best practices:
💧Maintain your septic system: Have your septic system inspected annually and pump your tank every 3–5 years to prevent leaks and contamination.
💧Test your water regularly: Test your well water for bacteria at least three times per year, or more often if conditions change.
💧Inspect your well annually: Check for cracks, damaged caps, pooling water, or other signs that contaminants could enter your well.
💧Reduce chemical use around your property: Use eco-friendly alternatives for fertilizers, pesticides, household cleaners, and road salts whenever possible.
💧Store fuels safely: Keep fuel tanks on secure surfaces with drip trays underneath to prevent spills from reaching the ground.
💧Conserve water during dry periods: Responsible water use helps maintain your well’s long-term reliability.
💧Dispose of hazardous materials properly: Take hazardous waste and unused medications to approved disposal facilities—never dump them on your property.
💧Maintain natural buffer zones: Preserve riparian or shoreline buffer areas to help filter runoff and protect nearby water sources.
Find more information and resources at: https://thamesriver.on.ca/source-water-protection-and-private-drinking-water-wells/
