June Across the Watershed: Stewardship, Water and the Season Ahead

As June settles across the Kawartha watershed, the landscape feels fully alive again.

Forests have filled in with green. Wetlands are alive with birdsong. Shorelines are growing thick with reeds and wildflowers. The lakes are busy with anglers, paddlers, cottagers, and families returning to the water after another long Ontario winter.

But beneath all that seasonal beauty is something deeper happening across the watershed - growth, change, resilience, and the constant balancing act between people, water, and the natural systems that support both.

In this month’s edition of Watershed Watch, we explore some of those stories.

We take a closer look at one of the questions heard most often around Lake Scugog each summer: “Why are there so many weeds?” The answer reveals far more than many people might expect about the history of the lake, the role aquatic plants play in supporting fish and wildlife, and why a healthy lake does not always look the way people think it should.

We also travel into the Talbot River watershed, where stewardship staff and agricultural landowners continue working together to improve water quality through long-term monitoring, wetland restoration, tree planting, and practical environmental solutions that support both farming and healthy waterways.

This edition highlights another successful spring tree planting season, with nearly 16,000 seedlings planted across private properties throughout the watershed. While the work itself happens over just a few weeks, the benefits will continue growing for generations - helping strengthen forests, improve wildlife habitat, protect water quality, and support climate resilience across the region.

You will also meet two of our seasonal staff members, Sydney Comeau and Natalie Caines, whose passion for ecological restoration, water, wetlands, and conservation offers a reminder that the next generation of environmental stewardship is already taking shape.

At this time of year, it can be easy to think of nature simply as scenery - something we enjoy during weekends at the lake, evening walks, or summer holidays. But the stories in this edition serve as a reminder that healthy watersheds do not happen by accident. They are shaped over time through stewardship, science, partnerships, and the choices communities make every day.

As always, thank you for taking the time to stay connected to the work happening across the Kawartha watershed. We hope you enjoy this month’s edition of Watershed Watch and find time this season to get outside and experience the watershed for yourself.