PaBIA eBlast July 10, 2019

Volume 11 No.11

Dear PaBIA,

No question that summer is upon us…highs in the 20s and 30s with warming water temperatures! But with that comes drier conditions – so please take notice that the Township’s Fire Rating has been changed to HIGH, and we’ve been put on notice to refrain from open fires and setting off firecrackers.

As we get into the swing of summer, please consider your wakes (actually see how they affect others by looking behind you especially after passing a kayaker, canoer or paddle boarder in a narrow passage!)

With all that is in this eBlast (and there is a great deal of information), there should be one of two things for everyone! Enjoy the summer! It doesn’t get much better than this!

In this eBlast:

Arts on the Bay – Dinner & RPR Tonight
Sailors – Races 3 & 4 Mike Mosley Memorial Regatta – July 13
PaBIA’s July Naturalist – Wildfires – July 14th (Dining Rm)
Ojibway Club Pig Roast – Sunday afternoon
PaBIA’s Community Fishing Derby w/ Brad H. – July 15
PaBIA’s ALL member Triathlon Event – Saturday, July 20
Ojibway’s 4th Annual Craft Beer & Food Festival July 20
GBLT Painted Rocks Walk with Nick Eyles – Thursday July 25
PaBIA’s Junior Regatta – Saturday July 27
GBLT’s Conservation & Climate Change – July 28
PaBIA’s EMS Committee Report and Recommendations
GBF – Did You Know you could be drinking….?
Habitat for Humanity PaB Build – Roof needs Donors!
WPSHC 911 Emergency Calls – Reminder of Info Needed
GBLT Summer Photo Contest
GBF – Changes We Can Do to Counter Microfibre
Ontario Birds – White Throated Sparrow
ToA Recycling – Printouts Listing What Goes Where!
WPSHC NON Urgent Care Centre Open Daily 12:00 – 4:00 pm
GBA Member Discount on Colemans and Stearns PDFs
All Great Lake Water Levels July 8, 2019
Lost & Found: Dock Lost / Blue & White Boat Cover Found
Yearbook Update

Week Starting Wednesday, July 10th

Arts on the Bay – Tonight

Social 4:30 p.m.

Catered Dinner 5:15 p.m.

RPR– Wednesday, July 10 @ 7:00 p.m.

Our friends Ritchie-Parish-Ritchie are back! They sang for us as both Tanglefoot and RPR. Their talented shows have pure Canadian folk music. Some poignant stories and a lot of funny songs that will keep your toes tapping.

Gorgeous harmonies, boisterous sound with much more rock music- oriented flavour added in. You’ll love these guys!

Special Art Exhibit – Karen Lediard

Karen Lediard from By the Bay Studio will wow you with her Rug hooking work and her Textile Arts.

2^nd Sailing Race – Mike Mosley Memorial Regatta

We had two excellent, high wind races last Saturday, with the course being moved to Ojibway due to the wind gusts (probably 20-25+ MPH) and white caps on the Middle Reach course! Despite several boats retiring from the race course, some mechanical breakdowns and multiple capsizing of Albacores and Lasers, everyone reported having a great time. After the race, we enjoyed the Kilgour’s Rendezvous and retold our stories from the races!

This Saturday at 2 PM we are holding the Mike Mosley Memorial Regatta, to honour Mike Mosley (1979-2018) and the entire Mosley family who, for well over 30 years, headed up the committee racing boat in support of the sailing fleet! Thank you, Mike, for all your years of service! You made sailing better just by your presence!

The races will be held in the open out Empress Channel. For those who are on the special sailing eblast, watch for an email by noon on Saturday if we need to move the race to Ojibway Bay due to the weather.

Week of July 14th

Sunday Pig Roast – Open to Everyone

July 14th – 12 noon to 2 pm!

Tennis Hut & Movie Hut

Cash Bar is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cost is $35 + HST & gratuity

This should be a great event for everyone involved (except for the pig), so we hope to see you there!

PaBIA Triathlon

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Swim • Run • Paddle

Come Out, Join the Fun and either Participate or Rally the Troops!

Medallions for all Participants

Winners in each Category Receive

C. Ian Sharpe Award

Categories: First Female Overall,

First Male Overall,

Mixed Pairs

Saturday, July 20th

8:30 Gathering; 9:00 am Start

All PaBIA Members are welcome!

Contact with questions: Virginia Walker

Last chance to

Upcoming Opportunities

Mark Your Calendars NOW

Rock Walk at Painted Rocks

July 25 (rain date August 1),

12 pm picnic, 1 pm walk,

Painted Rocks (Charles Inlet)

Join the Georgian Bay Land Trust and “rock star” Dr. Nick Eyles for a tour of the geological history seen in the rocks beneath our feet. Optional: come out early and join us for a picnic (bring your own). If you would like to be guided out, a boat convoy will leave the Ojibway Club docks at 11:30 sharp. More information

LANDMARK Speaker Series: Conservation & Climate Change

July 28, 4-6 pm,

Doritty Cottage on Castor Island

The Georgian Bay Land Trust presents Dan Kraus, Senior Conservation Biologist at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, for a discussion about the

impacts of climate change on Georgian Bay and
the critical role of conservation.

Light refreshments will be served. For more information

Ongoing Programmes

Microplastics:

An Urgent Reason to Recycle Properly!!!

With the stimulating discussion over this past weekend regarding microplastics and microfibres in our waters (thanks to Julia Foster and Georgian Bay Forever [GBF]), many folks were asking for a printout of exactly how does the Township of the Archipelago recycle – is it a one stream or two stream process? Unlike Toronto that has a one stream recycling system (where all containers and paper products are recycled together), the Township uses a two stream recycling system – one for containers and one for paper products. And the Township does a MUCH better job in effective recycling on a percentage basis than does Toronto!

So it behooves us, as residents in this pristine community, to DO OUR PART. While down at the government docks over the past few days, I have learned from the ToA that we could be doing MUCH MORE than we do to help – by just recycling our containers and paper products. (Only 11% of our trash collection is recyclable because folks are NOT separating these two recycling streams) It honestly doesn’t take much of any one’s time, and it helps the environment. So why not?

Please click on each of these two charts to print out the chart to permanently place near your recycling bins to assure proper disposal of the recycling materials. More recycling means less landfill.

Summer Photo Contest 2019!

Show us how you’re enjoying Georgian Bay Land Trust properties this summer

Our Summer 2019 photo contest has launched, and this time we want to see all the things you see when you visit our properties! From family picnic shots to the cool snake you found to the waves crashing on rocks, send us your best pictures taken at a GBLT property this year for a chance to win.

Entries will be accepted in three categories, with

first prize and runner up winners in each:

People & Pets • Wonderful Wildlife • Sensational Scenery

Click here for more information and to enter.

We can’t wait to see the summer moments you capture!

Non-Urgent Care Clinic in the West Parry Sound Health Centre Emergency Department

Serving Non-Urgent Patients Quicker

When: Now until August 31, 2019

Where: Emergency Department

Time: Noon to 4 PM

Our medical team includes an additional doctor during the summer months to accommodate the large influx in visits to the Emergency Department. We receive NO extra funding for this service, it’s managed through existing resources.

REMEMBER “PASS” When Using Fire Extinguishers:

P – Pull pin, break tamper proof seal.

A – Aim low, nozzle pointed to base of fire.

S – Squeeze handle to release extinguishing agent.

S – Sweep side to side pointed to base until extinguished.

Raise the Roof with Habitat for Humanity PaB!

With the construction of the walls beginning this week, our committee is now looking towards the next step of construction- the roof!

We are (fund)raising the roof on this house, one truss at a time! Trusses cost $300 each, and with 14 trusses required for our Habitat home, we need your support.

Donate now and see your contribution in real life. Better yet, sign up for a Build Day with your family and sign your name and well-wishes on the truss that you donate and house that you’ve helped to build.

Donate

For US Taxpayers

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Rachael. For updates on our progress, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook.

Updates on the build!

Concrete slab below the floor has been poured! Finally!
This week we are excited to welcome a group of 12 ladies’ kayakers to the site on Friday! They will assist in framing the outer walls… Stay tuned on our Facebook page and Newsletter for photos!

Of Interest

Did You Know…

…that we could be drinking our own ‘waste”?

The clothes we wash contain microfibres that end up
in our bottled water, our salt and our fish
in our bay water that many of us drink every day
The plastic bottles we use, when disposed of in our landfills, eventually will break up into smaller and smaller harmful microplastic pieces that can end up in the water we drink. The scariest thing is that the best evidence we have to date shows that this type of plastic may never breakdown entirely.
The styrofoam that is used in many of our docks, that we find floating in our waters, doesn’t disintegrate but rather breaks down as a form of microplastics and our fish, and other aquatic species, ingest them which could be detrimental to their health.

…that we could be eating our own ‘waste’?

Many of the fish we eat have ingested these microfibres and that these fibres have been found in their stomachs, digestive tracts AND in the muscle of the fish. The University of Toronto’s Rochman Lab research showed 100% of fish sampled from Lake Huron had the fibres in their digestive tracts, including their stomachs.
Many of the larger fish we eat have ingested smaller fish that likely have also eaten microfibres /plastics. These fibres can be absorbed into its tissues, possibly doubling the probability that we are eating twice the amount of microfibres.

…that we might be drinking or eating these microfibres?

So what can we do, as an organization and as individuals to be catalysts for change?

It behooves each of us to consider how we can change our habits to lessen this problem down the road. GBF has provided a list for us to begin the dialogue with our family and friends.

But kudos go to the Ojibway Club for having already taken a stand such that, after the present supply of plastic products are depleted, they will embrace bamboo utensils and paper cups and straws in the snack bar and paper or eco friendly bags in the grocery store. (They already have paper bags in the Gift Shop!

Each of us could bring our own reusable canvas and shopping bags to the Ojibway grocery store and Gift Shop or even when going to the station or into Parry Sound to lessen the impact. Or how about home, wherever that may be!

Many people are now using their own metal coffee cups which can be filled up or by putting drinking water into a washable container instead of purchasing plastic bottles…

Georgian Bay Forever is strongly urging families to walk their island together, especially along the shoreline, and pick up all the plastic and styrofoam pieces – anything that isn’t biodegradable – that are floating along the edge and/or caught in the rocks. This summer especially, with the higher water levels, many docks have been weakened or broken apart, sending the styrofoam pieces all over the bay. Click on the picture to the right to learn MUCH MORE!

And be on the lookout for debris just floating in the water. Circle back to pick it up and dispose of it properly in your trash! Make a game out of it!

PaBIA’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Committee Report

One of several Scott Sheard’s efforts as PaBIA’s Director of Member Safety was his spearheading the PaBIA’s EMS Committee to determine next steps in the quest to find a viable and sustainable solution(s) for our EMS concerns.

In the 2018 Survey, we had a strong and clear direction from our members to move forward on an initiative to find that solution. To that end, Scott has prepared a report of the findings of this Committee and recommendations for how best to proceed going forward.

PaBIA wishes to thank Scott and his committee for their many hours of open discussion and quality work in their efforts to come to these suggested next steps.

Phragmites Update

The Marine Patrol recently trained with Brooke Harrison from Georgian Bay Forever to learn and understand more on the issue of Invasive Phragmites. We made an effort to visit the locations from last year and are pleased to say that the sizes of the patches have gone down significantly!!!!

The Marine Patrol is hosting a Phragmites cut on both August 11th and 18th (Phragmites should NOT be cut before this) and would love all the help they can get! Helping with these cuts are a great way to help protect the Bay we all love and connect with the community.

Also, if you are a high school student (parents please share with your teenager), you can earn some volunteer hours by helping with the cuts as well! We would be thrilled to see more younger volunteers in the mix. If you are interested in volunteering, send the MP an email and they will add you to the list!

As always, thank you for actively looking for Invasive Phragmites around Pointe au Baril and if you find it, please do NOT cut it but rather email or call them 647-545-9283 so they can identify it and notify GBF.

911- THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW WHEN DIALING 911 is the

Location of Your Emergency

All guests to your cottage need to know your location including your Civic Address & Town/Municipality. It’s not always you who dials 911. Emergency responders need you to place the number where it is easily seen from the road , or if you are water access, place the number on the end of your stationary dock so long as it is visible. The location of VOIP calls are not identifiable by EMS and cell phones do not provide reliable location information. If you do NOT have a green sign on your dock (ToA Civic number), please contact Maryann Weaver at the Township office regarding replacing/getting one.

Provide the phone number you are calling from.

You will need to provide EMS with your phone number should they need to call you back for more information. Be prepared to stay on the line to answer questions and follow the direction/advice/information being provided to you by the Communications Officer. Help is being dispatched simultaneously as more information is being collected.

Click here for more directions on using 911.

GBA Member Discounts – Coleman & Stearns PFDs

GBA is a proud supporter of the Canadian Safe Boating Council. GBA membership in the CSBC means that all GBA member associations - and all their members (that’s PaBIA) - get a 40% discount on all Coleman products and Stearns PFDs and life jackets. Go to and also make sure to Coleman’s website click on the Stearns logo at top. Please be advised that the Stearns/Coleman discount promo code has been changed, in line with common practices, to ensure online security. The new passcode is SAFEBOAT19

More information of this member benefit and details of:

The 15% discount available for members from Rice Insurance, which applies on all your personal insurance coverage – not just the cottage and boats; and
The ~20% discount from Action First Aid on Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs);

Can be found here!

Ontario Birds – White Throated Sparrows

(Click on the picture to listen to one of its calls.)

In summer, White-throated Sparrows sing their clear whistles in northern forests. Adults may have head stripes of either white or tan, and scientists have found some odd differences in behavior between these two color morphs.

Feeding Behavior

Forages mostly on ground under or close to dense thickets. Often scratches briefly in leaf-litter with both feet. Also forages up in shrubs and low trees, mainly in summer.

Eggs

4-5, sometimes 3-6, rarely 2-7. Pale blue or greenish blue, marked with reddish brown and lavender. Incubation is by female only, about 11-14 days.

Young

Both parents feed nestlings. Young usually leave nest 8-9 days after hatching, are tended by parents for at least 2 more weeks. 1-2 broods per year. A few differences between color morphs: White-striped males are usually more aggressive and do more singing than tan-striped males. White-striped females also sing, but tan-striped females usually do not. Pairs involving a tan-striped male and white-striped female usually form more quickly than those of the opposite combination. Tan-striped adults tend to feed their young more often than white-striped adults.

Diet

Mostly seeds and insects. Feeds heavily on insects during breeding season, including damselflies, ants, wasps, true bugs, beetles, flies, caterpillars, and others, plus spiders, millipedes, and snails. Winter diet is mostly seeds of weeds and grasses. Also eats many berries, especially in fall. Young are fed mostly insects.

Nesting

The two color morphs (with tan-striped and white-striped heads) may be either male or female; adults almost always mate with the opposite color morph. Male sings to defend nesting territory. Nest site usually on ground, well hidden by low shrubs (such as blueberry), grass, or ferns. Sometimes nests above ground in shrubs, brush piles, or low trees, rarely up to 10′ high. Nest (built by female) is open cup made of grass, twigs, weeds, pine needles, lined with fine grass, rootlets, animal hair.

All Great Lake Water Levels – July 8, 2019

Dock Lost

From A-342-1 Princess Island. The dock is approximately 10 ft x 20 ft. It has a wooden staircase for swimming. There should be a ramp attached but if it’s connected is unknown.

If seen please let Dave and Holly Hitchcock

Boat Cover Found

This boat cover was retrieved by our Marine Patrol in the narrows south of Skunk Island in Sturgeon Bay.

If you recognize it, please contact PaBIA’s Marine Patrol, either Abby or Chris, or call their cell phone 647-545-9283 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, Thursday – Tuesday.

Yearbook Updates

Each week, we will provide you a list of names for those who have provided updated information. The details of all the changes since the Yearbook’s came out in April is provided in a printable format for you to print out and insert into your own Yearbook copy!

Mackle, Leanne & Paul (addition)