'Song for the Land' concert benefits local environmental group
A local group of musicians used the power of music to help protect natural habitats throughout the region.
The Orillia Vocal Ensemble put on the Song for the Land Concert Wednesday night at the St. Paul's Centre. Funds from the night benefited the Couchiching Conservancy, a not-for-profit group that protects critical pieces of nature.
"For us, we're right in the middle of a multiyear campaign to create a series of corridors throughout the region that we've identified as really critical for protection," says Mark Bissett, the group's executive director. "So this concert is very timely, it gives us some profile in the community that we might not otherwise have, and it helps us raise money."
The group is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. Since 1993, its protected approximately 14,000 acres in the region, efforts that are nearly entirely reliant on funding from the public.
Bissett says the group's work is critical, saying there are very few wetlands, which are essential to filtering water and controlling floods, left on the lake bodies.
"We are really blessed here because we still have a lot of fairly pristine wild areas, but it's going fast, and this area is slated to be one of the most highly developed in all of Ontario over the next 25 years," says Bissett. "So it's really important that we protect a substantial amount of habitat for all the species that are at risk in the area."
For more information you can click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.