Let's celebrate #WorldWaterDay! Held on March 22 every year since 1993, this UN-designated awareness day seeks to highlight the importance of fresh water.
Our local ponds, creeks, rivers, and wetlands do SO much for us. Not only do they help keep our water clean, look beautiful, provide homes for wildlife AND slow down flood waters, they also can help improve local agriculture!
Wildlife Habitat Stewards Ranbir and Shinder Kambo are cherry growers and years ago, theyused to lose a lot of cherries to late season frosts. They reached out for help and partnered with OSS to remove a handful of cherry trees from the middle of the orchard, and re-excavate and re-plant a previously filled in wetland. As a result, the number of frost-free days in the orchard increased due to the effect of the water in the pond regulating the surrounding air temperatures and the Kambo's cherry yield actually went UP despite the removed trees! As an added benefit, the pond, seen int he above photo) also serves as an important habitat for waterfowl and amphibians, including species at risk like Great Basin Spadefoots.
Interested in how to work with instead of against local habitats and wildlife on your farm? Check out our Stewardship & Agriculture page! https://www.osstewardship.ca/agriculture
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