2024

Granted $6325.00 for the See It, Pull It campaign – removal of water soldier.

Project Objectives:

The proposed See It, Pull It campaign is a crucial step forward in educating/engaging the public about this species and the negative impacts that it can have on their ability to enjoy their local waterbodies if left unchecked. With funding from the Ontario Wildlife Foundation, the OFAH will provide communities with the training, tools, and on-the-ground support needed to protect their own waterfronts by reporting and removing water soldier.

The See It, Pull It campaign includes the following activities: Develop volunteer handbook and affiliated training content. Staff will develop training materials for distribution to individuals/communities participating in this campaign, as per the Prevention and Response Plan. Examples of training/education resources include instructional pamphlets/post cards, videos, digital/web content, etc. Develop media campaign. Staff will develop digital content to increase awareness of water soldier (including its impacts) and how to become engaged in the See It, Pull It campaign/project and other water soldier activities (e.g., Water Soldier Watch Day). Installation of signage. Staff will install signage at public boat launches along the TSW and Bay of Quinte to raise awareness about this species and to prevent further spread. See It, Pull It training day. Staff will coordinate a training day where they will utilize/distribute the training resources produced to engage/teach volunteers on how to properly identify, report, and remove water soldier as per the Prevention and Response Plan. Staff will also promote the reporting of water soldier on platforms such as naturalist, EDD Maps, and the Invading Species Hotline. Build water soldier removal toolkits for volunteers. Staff will create an inventory of existing tools/materials, as well as purchase additional tools/materials that will be used to support water soldier removal events. Tools include rakes, gloves, and leaf bags for disposal. This equipment will be available for loan to participating volunteers to assist with removal efforts. The volunteer handbook and other training/educational materials will be included with the toolkits to ensure following the steps/reporting requirements outlined in the Prevention and Response Plan. Track reporting/removal activities resulting from the See It, Pull It campaign. Staff will include instructions/training on how participating volunteers should communicate their achievements. For example, as per the Prevention and Response Plan, participants will be required to e-mail the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry prior to any removal and provide information about the actions they are taking to remove water soldier (e.g., address, date/time activities, biomass removed). This information will also be shared with OFAH staff to track key metrics for evaluation, including how many people participated in the program, how many landowners followed through with control options, how much surface area and/or bags of water soldier were removed.

Through this project, we will be encouraging and enabling communities to work together to improve aquatic ecosystem health, resulting in lasting impacts to native species (and their habitats), recreational activities, and reducing the economic impacts of water soldier in Ontario.