Friends of
Amis de
l’île Petrie
www.petrieisland.org
Report to City OF OTTAWA for the 2004 Summer
Season
October, 2004
This
was our seventh year of operation. An increasing number of people from
across the region are discovering the area, and this, along with continued use
by those familiar with the
It has
been a busy year since our 2003 report. Construction of the new beach/park
started in October and finished in December,
then resumed from mid-May to mid-July, causing disruption in picnic area
use. Much of FOPI’s energy was spent
restoring and improving the area as a result of construction.
HIGHLIGHTS
1.
Operated picnic areas and trails –
monitoring and maintenance
2.
Expanded interpretive program by opening
Nature Centre for 100 days, holding special events, presenting slide shows and
giving tours. Some events were cancelled due to construction. Publicizing the
area through local and national media, developing displays, folders and a
handbook. Assisted high school and university students in studies of the area
3.
Improvements included: observation
platforms, display signs, trail signage, (Trillium grant) canoe launch
4.
Participated in planning and building of
improved picnic area and beach/park
5.
Funds generated included: $4,900 in grants, $3,500 in donations and a
value of $21,550 in volunteer labour
ORGANIZATION
o
Continued contacts with various
associations: Ottawa Field Naturalists’Club (OFNC), Ottawa Duck Club, Urban
Stewardship Council, local community associations, Orleans Recreation Board,
Riverkeeper, SHELL (Turtle Club), Ottawa Forestry Advisory Committee, Amphibian
Conservation Club, and various government bodies
o
Organizational and City funds were used to
hire students for monitoring and maintenance
o
The second year of an Ontario Trillium
Foundation grant ($4,900) was applied to our interpretive program
o
Participated in planning meetings and open
houses on the park/beach plans
o
Operated the cottage as an information
centre May through September
SITE
IMPROVEMENTS
o
3 beach areas were constructed
including erosion control, headlands,
pathways, landscaping and expanded parking
(see Appendix A)
o
Provided maintenance and cleanup of trail
and shoreline outside picnic area
o
Improved the cottage for use as an
interpretive centre including more display area and storage
o
Improved signs with trail signs and new
display signs
o
Majority of work was done Wednesday
mornings; two work days were also attended by the general public. Many Scout,
Guide and Cadets groups participated in general cleanups.
o
Second wildlife observation platform was
constructed (Trillium grant)
o
Canoe ramp and launch was installed (Urban
Stewardship Council and the City)
OPERATIONS
o
The City
provided direct funds for toilet rental (5 months), materials and grass
cutting ($3,750) as well as services of staff
for site improvement and garbage collection ($3,550), for a total value
of $7,300 (the same as the previous
year), a third toilet had to be added due to increased useage of the area
o
Daily cleanup, site improvement, and
monitoring of the area was provided by
Friends of Petrie Island, using volunteers and students hired with City grant
money - $3,000 and $3,000 in donations along with an HRSS grant of $2800.
Monitoring is important to protect the environment and for public safety and
has led to reduced levels of vandalism and damage
o
Parking – when the new parking lots were completed in
mid-July there were 270 spaces, and there were 7 days when all were filled. A
maximum of over 500 cars were recorded north of the causeway, with approx. 100
parked along the road outside the park
and another 130 along the road inside the park but outside of designated areas.
One problem is that the parking spaces are not marked causing improper parking.
The maximum number of cars parked in designated spots was about 235, 35 more
could have been accommodated (see
Appendix B)
o
FOPI again worked with City staff to protect trees
from beavers (wrapped trees with wire mesh). Over 70 trees were killed by
beavers in the winter and spring.
ATTENDANCE
o
Attendance in May and June decreased over
last year due to construction and flooding, but increased significantly after
the parking was completed in July – (area closed 19 days in May and June)
o
Attendance figures are based on car counts
multiplied by 2.5 persons in May/June and 3.0 persons in July/August.
o
Figures are found in Table 1. The
attendance was based on the use of the whole park area inside the gate; on busy
days this figure was adjusted to include cars parked outside the gates.
o
There were 38 days when attendance
exceeded 1,000 and 14 days when it was over 3,000
o
After the park was opened in July the
attendance increased to 133,000 compared to 64,000 last year
INTERPRETIVE
AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
o
The second year of the Trillium grant
provided funds to improve publications, displays and present an audiovisual
slide show
o
Official photographer Jim Robertson
completed a third slide show on turtles, which was shown to various community
groups - 20 presentations were made to over 450 people using our new digital
projector. The new Turtle show has been shown in
o
Opened the centre daily in July and August
and on weekends in May, June and September
o
New
brochure and a
o
Participated in Wildlife Festival at
Carlingwood Mall in April
o
Eight theme days were held with nature
displays, including a fifth Wildflower Walk and a fourth Turtle Day
o
Made presentations and gave tours to
Scout, Guide and school groups
o
Our website (www.petrieisland.org)
continues to receive considerable traffic and generate positive comments; many
visitors mention the website as the reason for their visit
o
Various FOPI events and articles on
STUDIES:
o
Student thesis “Effective light
penetration on Jack-in-the-pulpit” – Katerina Sullivan, Institute of
Environmental Science,
o
Turtle counts on
FOPI
SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING:
o
Friends of
o
FOPI supports the Grandmaître boat launch
plan
o
Completion of the beach park plan with
proper drainage and furnishings and amenities such as playgrounds, canteen,
picnic shelters, washrooms etc.
o
A management plan for the
o
Look at possible use of the downstream bay
for canoe, kayak and small boat sailing area as well as shore fishing
o
We support an additional temporary parking
area
o
We support the Kiwanis play structure
proposal at
o
We do not support an interprovincial
bridge at
o
Installation and enforcement of
regulations i.e. boats and dogs in beach area
o
Some type of surface treatment of the main
access (Trim) road, for dust control and pedestrian/cyclist safety
o
The addition of a bicycle lane along the
access road to the causeway
PROPOSALS FOR
2005
o
Same operating season as 2004, May to
October, operation will depend on status of the new beach/park
o
No dogs in picnic area, on beach/sand and
natural areas
o
Continued support of Police and increased
Bylaw presence to keep area safe
o
Open the beach: water quality results have
been good to date and we feel the beach should be opened in 2005
o
Continue to improve cottages/info centre
and programs
o
Incorporate grass cutting and other
maintenance with the beach operation
o
Development of environmental programs on
the island for youth
Al
Tweddle, Chair, Friends of
(613)
824-1188
hatweddle@rogers.com
FRIENDS
OF PETRIE
2004
Balance
from previous year 3795.86
Trillium 4900
Miscellaneous (McNeely Golf tournament)
200
Administration 733.98
Construction
supplies 2746.35
Audio
Visual equipment 160.00
Pamphlets, books 876.84
Display
materials 255.50
Wages
7802.59
Wage
benefits 198.71
Bank charges 62.32
* The two year Trillium grant is from April 1,
2003 to April 1,2005, approximately $800 remains in this account
FRIENDS OF
Chairman: Al
Tweddle
Vice
Chairman Rene
Cloutier
Secretary Paul
Le Fort
Treasurer Steve
McPhee
Membership Doug
Drouillard
Planning David
Villeneuve, Dave Redmond
Members
at Large Pete
Waddell, Jim Robertson
Interpretive
Program Paul
LeFort, Al Tweddle, Bill Bower,
Christine
Hanrahan, Jim Robertson, Stephen Darbyshire
TABLE 1 -
|
|
TOTAL ATTENDANCE |
|
|
|
|
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
|
MAY |
n.a. |
3075 |
4089 |
5084 |
4185 |
7703 |
6294 |
|
JUNE |
510 |
3943 |
4617 |
9517 |
9479. |
20,198 |
14,436 |
|
JULY |
277 |
6852 |
10,974
|
18,672 |
26,062 |
25,934 |
48,137 |
|
AUGUST |
4576 |
|