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Association
for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER)
ACER, a team of outdoor educators, focuses
on community outreach through environmental monitoring. The Niagara
Escarpment Biosphere Reserve Network Studies (NEBRS) project was
launched by ACER to activate local community support for the Biosphere
Reserve. This project strengthens environmental protection along
the Escarpment by setting in place an integrated, long-term environmental
education and monitoring network.
The National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count
(CBC) is an early-winter survey of birds. Although counts occur
in Central and South America, most CBCs occur in North America.
The sample area for a count is a circle that is 15 miles in diameter,
and varying numbers of volunteers count all birds they see in
the circle during a single day, which is within 2 weeks of 25
December.
Bruce Peninsula National Park is involved
in a number of research and monitoring activities along the Escarpment.
These activities include: Christmas bird counts, rare vascular
plant counts, black bear studies, a plant and animal species observation
system, frog surveys, fish diversity study, eastern Massasauga
rattlesnake monitoring, forest and marsh bird monitoring, white-tailed
deer population dynamics study and forest biodiversity monitoring.
The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) of Environment
Canada has been conducting point counts to monitor birds throughout
Ontario, including the Niagara Escarpment. Since 1997, through
a partnership with the Ontario's Niagara Escarpment Monitoring
Program, CWS has undertaken a forest bird productivity study to
examine the breeding success of wood thrushes and red-eyes vireos
in different sized Escarpment forests.
The Cliff Ecology Research Group (University of
Guelph) has investigated the structure and function of the cliff
ecosystem of the Niagara Escarpment since 1985. Much of the work
has been carried out on properties owned by the Halton Region
Conservation Authority and Milton Limestone Limited.
The Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network
(EMAN) is a national network which brings often independent environmental
monitoring and research activities together in an ecological framework
to facilitate cooperation and a holistic approach to ecological
enquiry and ecosystem understanding. The network connects the Ecological
Science Cooperatives (ESCs) operating across the country. It is
highly decentralized and acts as a coordinating body, facilitating
communications among participants and providing strategic direction.
Since 1975, birdwatchers have been monitoring
the annual spring migration of hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures
over the Niagara Peninsula. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch was
organized in 1990 to promote the enjoyment of hawkwatching, educate
people about hawks, conduct systematic counts of hawks migrating
over the Niagara Peninsula and to work for the preservation of
raptors in Ontario.
The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) has established
forest biodiversity monitoring plots along the Escarpment at Rock
Chapel Sanctuary and Borer's Creek. RBG has also collected data
on salamanders, small mammals and butterflies at Escarpment sites.
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