Ontario Nature Youth Challenge

I am lucky to live in an area that is very close to a special place called the Alfred Bog. Every day, I can go for a short walk and find myself in an ecosystem that is very different from most other areas in Ontario. Millions of years ago, a branch of the Ottawa River brought water melted from a glacier to this area. The Alfred Bog is over 10,000 acres in size, which makes it the largest section of Northern Boreal forest of its kind in southern Ontario. The Alfred Bog is considered to be a domed peat bog. This means the water drains from it in all directions. The only new water comes from rain or snow. The ground is covered in a type of moss called sphagnum moss, which most people call peat moss. When I walk in the bog during the spring, the ground is very wet. Sometimes you can lose a boot in it. During the summer, the ground is soft and springy, which makes walking kind of hard.

There are many mammals that live in the bog. Some, like moose, are large and easy to see. Others are harder to find. This year in the fall, I would see deer almost every day when going for a walk after supper. A few years ago, it was more common to see moose than deer. I have only seen one moose this year. My family and I keep a collection of moose antlers that we find when we are walking in the bog. Each year, while snowshoeing in the winter, or walking during the spring, we find the remains of a deer that has been killed by wolves or wild dogs. I have never seen a pack of wolves, but it is not uncommon to hear them howling at night. Last year, we saw a fischer going through our compost pile.

The bog is home to many rare and endangered plants and animals. These include the bog elfin butterfly, Fletcher’s dragonfly, spotted turtle, white-fringed orchid, and Atlantic sedge and rhodora. There are so many unique plants and animals in this ecosystem. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has designated the bog as a “Class 1 Wetland” and an “Area of Natural and Scientific Interest”.

Unfortunately, although it is considered to be the highest quality bog ecosystem in southern Ontario, the peat moss is still be harvested by commercial businesses. Hundreds of acres each year are drained and the thick layer of peat that has taken thousands of years to accumulate is removed. The raw peat is stored in huge piles before it is bagged or trucked away. Many farmers in the area are concerned that the water table is dropping because of the loss of peat and excessive drainage. On the days that the peat is being processed at a site not far from my grandparents, you can see the dust and dirt particles that are floating in the air. Each year, more and more of the bog is destroyed and will never be replaced.

Many groups are working hard to ensure that the Alfred Bog is protected. While some groups are asking politicians to protect the land, other people are just buying as many acres as possible to prevent it from being used for commercial purposes. I hope that we are successful in protecting the bog so that plants and animals can continue to evolve in a different way than everything around them. I hope that I can keep walking in the bog and maybe get a picture of a rare butterfly, turtle or orchid.