Thunder Bay Planting Day aims to restore waterfront along shores of Lake Superior

Dozens of volunteers and members of local environmental groups got their hands dirty with staff from the City of Thunder Bay for a planting day at Pool Six of Prince Arthur's Landing in Thunder Bay.

They worked on Monday to plant roughly 100 small trees and shrubs and 1,500 small plants, including native vegetation, which can help enhance storm-water retention, provide enhanced riparian buffers and create additional wetland features along the shoreline. 

The North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plans (RAP) co-ordinated this harbour cleanup project with funding through Environment and Climate Change Canada to restore the fish and wildlife habitats of the former industrial site.

"There's no single most important plant, but we have a lot of great native species like white cedars that thrive on the shoreline and a lot of native shrubs that will provide habitat for birds and insects," said Tim Hollinger, co-ordinator for the North Shore of Lake Superior RAP.

"It's really quite the diverse mix of plants that we have coming in here from grasses, shrubs, little flowers to trees that will one day, you know, hopefully last here for 40 or 50 years."

By reintroducing these plants and ensuring they can thrive, the nearly 100-year-old large industrial site should expect to see a vast improvement even in the next four to five years, not only for native species of wildlife but also for plants, Hollinger said. 

"Last year we were successful in putting in about 500 plants just to the left here down the shoreline and we're already seeing those plants start to take," said Hollinger. "It doesn't take too long for nature to return and recolonize an area."

He added the new extension to the marina is a huge opportunity for the city to also reconnect with Lake Superior and take stewardship to restore the waterfront, which historically was large wetlands that faced significant industrialization as a shipping port.

Restoring the shore

Gary Davies, a volunteer for the planting day, has been involved in stewardship activities around Thunder Bay for several years. He said the planting will naturalize the shoreline, make it more enjoyable for walking, attract wildlife and, overall, "make it a prettier place to be."

"This is for the community and by the community, which makes it pretty special."

As the waterfront trail develops, he said, it is essential not only that more planting opportunities and their benefits become available, but more folks get out to help.

Jo Blakely, a research assistant with the Remedial Action Plan, also came out to help plant some plants at the waterfront. She agreed it's great to get involved and do something hands-on to "really make a difference on the waterfront."

"I think this is a great starter for getting people interested and involved and connecting with the city to kind of work together on some remediation projects, as well as making it look nice for people who enjoy the area," said Blakely.

The North Shore of Lake Superior RAP has a few other planting days planned over the summer and into the fall.

"We're always looking for volunteers and we're happy to have anyone who'd like to help. They're more than welcome to come and join," said Blakey. "We usually post about it on our website and social media, so they can send our coordinator an email if they're interested and we'd be happy to have people help out."

They also encourage the public to look for their media releases with the city for more information.