GAMIING receives cheque from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC):
A very happy staff at GAMIING Centre for Sustainable Lakeshore Living received a cheque in March 2009 from RBC Blue Water Project.
Paul McPherson, manager of the Lindsay branch of RBC, and his colleague Jordan Bress came to the Discovery Shack at GAMIING to bring the cheque.
Both RBC employees were very interested in the work of GAMIING. Sandy Carrothers, our outdoor education specialist, told them about the work she is doing with schools on their various nature projects, the summer day camps and the monthly Nature Club. Sandy said that GAMIING provides a unique natural outdoor venue to explore hands-on environmental education. Through experiences and interactions at GAMIING, she hopes to provide memorable adventures.
The RBC Blue Water Project cheque is specifically for another part of Gamiing's work, restoring lake and stream shorelines and indigenous habitat along Pigeon Lake, Gannon's Narrows and their tributaries.
Much of GAMIING's efforts focuses on environmental enhancement at the water's edge because so much shoreline has been impacted by human activity. Many landowners cut their lawns to the water's edge, reducing the stability of the shoreline since grass cannot hold the soil with its shallow roots. Because of the constant wave action caused by wind and boat wakes, shoreline soil is worn away, adding silt to the lake, which impacts water quality and fish habitat. It also eats away at the shore, providing a never-ending reduction of property and setting in place continuous environmental impacts.
John Nolan, our lakeshore restoration manager, works with property owners to develop a plan that is suitable for their area, pleases the owner and restores habitat and helps improve water quality. There is a host of happy owners who are willing to have their property used as a demonstration site for other shoreline owners who are hesitant to make this very important step to naturalize their shoreline.
GAMIING volunteer executive director Mieke Schipper is grateful to corporations such as RBC for their support to environmental issues. All the money received goes directly into restoration projects already on the books.
GAMIING receives more funds:
Recently GAMIING received funding from the Shell Environment Fund for a specific restoration plan and from the Friends of the Environment TD Canada Trust for interpretive signs and other educational materials along the trails at GAMIING. (GAMIING is Ojibwa, meaning "at the shore".)
