IJC staffers from the Canadian Section in Ottawa took time recently to help clean up a local shoreline.
They met at Windsor Park along the Rideau River in early November for the cleanup. They found invasive zebra mussels making a home in an old tire, different kinds of single-use drinking cups, straws, wrappers and more.
There were ducks enjoying the sun while it was out, squirrels wondering what was happening and kids running around. The effort was part of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign.
Invasive mussels making a home in a tire Credit: IJC
Staffers collected four bags of trash, an old tire and a rusty road signfor proper disposal. That means the stuff won’t be making its way down the Rideau River, which flows into the Ottawa River a few kilometers downstream of Windsor Park.
The Ottawa River is one of the largest tributaries to the lower part of the St. Lawrence River, which forms the final part of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system.
The Ottawa River joins the St. Lawrence River at two points. A bit less than half discharges into Lake St. Louis through Lac des Deux-Montagnes west of Montreal and the rest flows north of the island of Montreal through the Mille-Îles and Des Prairies River before joining the St. Lawrence River further downstream and to the east of the city.
You can see the Ottawa River’s journey on an International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board StoryMap. Look for sections 14, 15 and 20.
Have you done something similar in your transboundary watershed lately? Send us a photo via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn!
From left to right: Christina Chiasson, Rachel Carmichael Campbell, Diana Moczula, Erika Klyszejko, Lindsay Trottier, Shane Zurbrigg. Credit: IJC
Rachel Carmichael Campbell is a student analyst at the IJC’s Canadian Section office in Ottawa, Ontario.
