PaBIA eBlast April 6, 2022

Apr 6, 2022 | Eblasts

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Volume 14 No. 4

Greetings!

Your PaBIA Board has been hard at work over the winter on several initiatives and is so very excited to think that this summer will have normalcy written all over it…Regattas, PaBIA Naturalists Talks, weekly Sailing Races, Triathlon/Duathlon Combination, and Learning with Oshkinigig for everyone!!! We’ll even have our in-person Blueberry Pancake Breakfast and AGM! Check out the calendars below!

It won’t be too much longer before the ice is totally out and we are back on the Bay that we love! Thanks, Bruce Tiffin, for this photo taken on Monday out by the PaB Lighthouse!

In this eBlast:

OF INTEREST

LAST CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY – Due Date is THIS Friday

This is your last opportunity to participate in the Economic Impact Survey. The GBA wants to be able to lobby governments more effectively byshowing how significant our cottage spending is to the Ontario economy.
While this initiative is being led by the Georgian Bay Association, it was done at the instigation of your PaBIA representatives on the GBA Board, Mark Gwozdecky and Dave Sharpe. 

If you haven’t already taken the survey please do it now – the deadline for submissions is this Friday, April 8!
More detailed information on the survey is below as was explained to us in February by our President, Erica Allen.

From PaBIA’s President in February ~ We Need to Know The Facts!

What financial impact do seasonal residents have on the Ontario economy??

In the course of advocating for access for our US and International members in 2020 and 2021, it became apparent we would have benefitted significantly from an extra tool in our toolbox; namely demonstrating how important our US and International members are to the Ontario economy.

Calculating total cottager economic impact will be critical to all future advocacy efforts. Read on..

Meet PaBIA Triathlon New Co-Chairs

Meredith Harbinson

Hello! I am very excited to be organizing the PABIA Triathlon with Ian this summer. I’ve been cottaging in Pointe au Baril since I was a kid and spent many summers as a camper, counsellor, and recreation head at the Ojibway Camp. I love swimming, running, kayaking, and canoeing and have participated in a few PABIA Triathlons previously. I am excited to make this year’s Triathlon a big success and encourage everyone to sign up for this fun event!!

Ian Sharpe

My time in Pointe au Baril began in 1994 when my parents first rented the Richardson’s cottage on the main channel across from the Ojibway. They purchased our family cottage (now 102 years old) on Shawanaga Bay in 2002. From the very beginning, it was as clear to us as the fresh northern air that what made this slice of paradise truly special was the community. What I view as the two best parts of our community is the shared love for the magic and beauty of Pointe au Baril and the desire to revel in it together. 

As a triathlete, I am certainly biased to say that the PABIA Triathlon might be one of the best recent additions to our community. Combining a swim in the silky water, a run through the forest and a paddle around the bay might just constitute one of your best mornings at the cottage this Summer! While this event is a race, it is not an Olympic qualifying event, so there is no reason it can’t be enjoyed by all ages and abilities, just for the sake of the story.

SFN Fish Hatchery

As part of our effort to share content related to Indigenous issues, please check out the video below which describes the fish hatchery operated by Shawanaga First Nations. Thanks to their efforts since the 1970’s, anglers throughout the waters of Shawanaga and Pointe au Baril have benefitted.

Inspired by the teachings of their grandfathers to “give back what we take,” community leaders became interested in walleye culture and restoration in the Shawanaga River in the late 1970’s. In 1996, a hatchery was built at Shawanaga Landing. The spawning bed is located about 2.5 kilometers from the mouth of the Shawanaga River. The hatchery used a flow-through system to produce 3 to 5 million walleye fry that were released into the water annually. This has since kept walleye stocks at a reasonably sustainable level.

The community’s Hatchery Operator, Aaron Pamajewong, says that the goal has always been sustainability. “Our elders taught us long ago that to ensure the sustainability of the resources that allow us to survive as human beings, we must give back. Involving our children teaches them this traditional community wisdom.”

In 2018, SFN upgraded its hatchery with new technology. This new culturing technology features a state-of-the-art water recirculating system that destroys harmful bacteria. It has allowed the community to double its current fry output for stocking purposes as well as produce, for the first time, an important number of advanced fingerlings.

Prepping for Sailing Summer 2022 -Get on the Sailing eBlast List

The Sailing Team is getting ready for the summer for everyone who is interested in or wants to sail!

As we begin gearing up, have you ever wondered how YOU can receive the weekly details of sailing racing and other sailing-specific news in PaB? There is a sailing eBlast that goes out separately from the general summer eBlasts with the details of the upcoming races, changes, and rendezvous locations and all other things sailing, including things like sailboats for sale. 

Please reach out to Margie Wheler to be added to that newsletter.

Meet PaBIA’s Marine Patrol for Summer 2022!!!

My name is Emma Manners. I will be one of the two Marine Patrollers this upcoming season. I am going into my second year at Queen’s University, majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in International Development. I have had the great privilege to spend my summers in Pointe au Baril since I was little. Catching frogs, swimming off the dock, and picnics on the islands are what I treasure most from summers at the cottage. The Marine Patrol position has given me the opportunity to give back to our tight-knit community and protect the land we all enjoy during the warmer months. I look forward to contributing to conservation efforts, community-based involvement, and working alongside those who put so much effort into ensuring that Pointe au Baril and Georgian Bay continue to flourish as it has for generations. 

My name is Roland Binkley, and I am finishing my third year at the University of Guelph. I have always had an interest in the environment, and so am pursuing an undergrad degree in environmental governance. My grandparents bought a cottage up here over 60 years ago, and so I have been fortunate enough to be able to come up to Pointe au Baril every summer. Because of this, I have gained an appreciation of the local wildlife! Being able to combine my interests of the environment and life on the bay will be a great job experience! The last 5 years I have been able to stay up at the cottage while working at Desmasdon’s, and I figured that working for the Marine Patrol would allow me to stay where I love, while getting work experience for a field closer to one that I wish to pursue as I grow older and finish university!

The Calendar is Set for the Summer…

June 25 – July 30

July 31 – September 5

Of Interest

New Study Finds Microplastics in Human Blood

If we haven’t had enough information about microplastics getting into the environment through articles and studies by GBF, GBA and others, there is a growing body of evidence on the effects of these microfibres and microplastics on human health. The study itself explains it in detail but some of you may have seen the article in the Globe and Mail last week regarding the findings of microplastics in human blood.

David Sweetnam, Executive Director of Georgian Bay Forever, shared a link from The Guardian. “It’s just better to keep it all out of our environment in the first place. One of the researchers is quoted in this article as saying that ‘babies have 10 times the levels of microfibres over adults if they are fed with plastic bottles’.” Helen Bryce, PaBIA Director of Education will have a series of articles on this over the spring/summer.

Who Is the Georgian Bay Land Trust?

The GBLT is a not-for-profit registered charity supported by people who love and want to protect the wilderness of Georgian Bay for current and future generations.

We are residents, cottagers, boaters, sailors, kayakers, canoeists, native communities, fishers, campers, hikers, and nature enthusiasts. We are a community who shares a passion for preserving this incredible area for future generations of Canadians.

Our goal is to preserve the land and waters of eastern Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron. This area is home to the world’s largest freshwater archipelago, boasting more than 30,000 islands. A UNESCO designated World Biosphere Reserve, the region supports an incredible diversity of plants and wildlife and is a core habitat for many endangered and at-risk species. Through preservation and stewardship, we promote appreciation and protection of this unique area.

Since its founding in 1991 GBLT has grown to now protect:
7,513 wilderness acres in Georgian Bay spread over 62 stewarded properties
The GBLT works to protect wilderness lands. Forever.
Our work is truly only beginning.
We hope you will help us protect even more wilderness and its inhabitants in the coming years.

Play Golf with Shawanaga First Nation in Support of their 25th Pow Wow
May 17, 2022

Join SFN at
Sequin Valley Golf Course, one of Canada’s Top 100 Courses
for their 1st Annual Pow Wow Fundraising Golf Tournament
to help support their 25th Pow Wow

To register you can scan the QR code on the poster or you may use this link.
Additional details include;

  • $600/ team or $150/ person 
  • 120 players
  • Lunch, Dinner, Snacks & Swag Bags included
  • Cabins Available to rent – to rent please contact Seguin Valley GC directly. 705-378-2555
  • Scramble format 
  • Sponsorship to golf with either Ted Nolan or Bandon Nolan! 

For more information, contact us.

Lakes Michigan/Huron Water Levels April 4, 2022 To better read the charts, please click on the chart for the Daily or Six Month Forecast Water level chart and the corresponding websites

In Memoriam

William ‘Bill’ Armstrong, A60 – 7 ‘Pentecost Is.’, husband of Judith ‘Judy’ Armstrong, father of Bill, John and James (Christine), December 2020. 

John W. McDaniel, A514 – 1 ‘Blueberry Hill’, husband of the late Meredythe McDaniel, father of Lisa (Bob) Hoppe and the late John (Lisa) McDaniel, grandfather of Devlin (Katey) McDaniel, February 2022. 

William ‘Bill’ McDonald, C356 ‘Adanac Is.’, husband of Martha, October 2021

Please support

PaBIA’s Yearbook’s 

Advertisers Alpha Listing 2021

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This site’s advertising feature was created to provide assistance for special local information &events for existing Yearbook advertisers only.

Emergency 

• PaB Nursing Station
• Canadian Coast Guard 
Search and Rescue
800-267-7270
• PaBIA Emergency info

PaBIA


• Board Minutes February 1, 2022
• Environment and Nature
• Education