A group of friends help to conserve the Grand River watershed

Understanding more about the Grand River’s health will help a local group address the environmental issues it faces today.

Friends of the Grand River, a non-profit organization driven by volunteers, is dedicated to working for the benefit of the river and greater watershed.

Operating primarily in the Fergus and Elora areas of Wellington County, the organization is run by a board of elected directors, and is funded by fundraising activities, government grants and donations.

Past-chair, Rob Voisin of Fergus, has been on the Friends of Grand River board for the past eight years.

Since then, Voisin said he has seen quite a few changes to the Upper Grand River system, which covers about 27 km within Centre Wellington in communities such as Belwood, Fergus and Elora.

“As a community member, I think the river provides an incredible quality of life to all residents who live along it,” Voisin said.

“From a personal perspective, I see all of the challenges that the world faces, including increased density and urbanization, climate change, and changes in chemicals farmers are using.”

The Upper Grand River offers a world class trout fishery for brown trout. 

"This brings in tons of local tourism dollars a year to the local economy. That has become well known now and has increased traffic, increased garbage and increased pressure on the fishery, as there are more anglers now than there ever have been on the water.”

Looking into the future, Voisin said, with the province mandating population growth in Centre Wellington of 30,000 residents by 2050, the impacts of urban growth on the river are already evident.

“Homeowners are cutting their tree lines right down to the bank of the river. When you kill those root systems, the river erodes and becomes shallower and wider which creates warmer water. This changes the chemistry of the river,” Voisin said.

“In addition to that, climate change is a big factor. We’ve seen, from our temperature monitoring over the last 20 years, there’s no question that the whole river system is up a couple degrees in different spots. Warming water changes the dynamic and the environment.”

Incorporated in 1995, Friends of the Grand River focuses on efforts that help to conserve the Grand River Watershed by planting trees, picking up garbage, stocking fish, working on stream restoration projects and facilitating sampling and monitoring of the river.

Friends of the Grand River is partnered with the University of Guelph to conduct studies that include monitoring the population of various insects along the watershed.

"Currently we are concluding what has been a two-year water study in partnership with the University of Guelph. Basically the bug study has taken place at 16 locations at six different times throughout the last two years. We’ve collected samples at different times along the river mimicking an old study from the early 2000’s," Voisin said. 

"We use the bug samples to see what has changed over the last 20 years and to see the density of some populations of bugs. Some bugs are very pollutant resistant, and others, just can’t survive at all with the slightest bit of pollution. So, we are using bugs as a leading indicator to figure out the health of the river."

Currently, Friends of the Grand River has about 125 members.

“The summer is more of our slower period. We meet with township officials and the Ministry of Natural Resources. This is our heavy political governance time of the season," Voisin said.

The spring and fall seasons are when volunteers are most active, taking part in multiple tree plantings and garbage cleanups,

"In May, we do our fish stocking. We put 25,000 fish in the Grand River and another 15,000 into the Conestogo. That’s in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources. We use all volunteer labour to get the fish from truck to river, and we make sure to spread them throughout the entire system for best potential success."

"I believe in monitoring the river and using that as an indicator for the success,or lack there of, in properly managing the growth and external variables. I don’t think there is a better way to monitor how we are doing as a society."

Voisin said anyone can become a member of Friends of the Grand River.

"It really is an incredible testament to over 30 years of volunteerism without a single paid staff person. We manage all the trails, all of the accesses, and we pick up all of the garbage from the kiosks every single week. Everything is done by our volunteers," Voisin said.

"So, if we keep the river healthy, then we are doing something good."