Elementary students take to the woods

June 2, 2016

Forestry Day brought close to 200 local elementary students to Joy Bible Camp last week to learn about a wide variety to ways to cultivate forests and work with the resulting wood. The students came from York River, Whitney, and Madawaka public schools, and even from the Sagonaska Demonstration School in Belleville. They learned about tree variety and tree planting, and visited with talented local artisans who produce everything from canoes and paddles to violins to pepper mills. They even watched John Foreman shape a tree trunk with a broadaxe.

NERDs catch and stock fish

The past two weeks in NERDs have been very busy! First, we had to get everything prepared for the upcoming NERDs golf tournament. Then we started SLIN netting (Spring Littoral Index netting) for Lake Trout, on Cashel Lake near Gunter. We did this for five days. Each day a different group of NERDs put out six sets of nets in three mesh sizes: 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 inches. Each 300 foot gang of nets would be set out twice for 90 minutes. We caught a lot of perch as well as a few other different species. On Thursday the group caught a huge 22 pound lake trout, the only lake trout we caught over the five days. That catch was better than all the perch other groups would catch. By the way, do perch ever make a mess of our nets!

Pollinators take centre stage at the Bancroft Horticultural Society

One of the main causes is the disappearance of habitats that support bees.

Dutch memorial tulips bloom in Bancroft

A lot of people have visited the annual Tulip Festival in Ottawa. Now the festival has developed a Bancroft extension – and with the same source: a donation from Holland as a token of thanks for Canada’s contribution to the liberation of the Netherlands in the Second World War.

Pollinators take centre stage at the Bancroft Horticultural Society

One of the main causes is the disappearance of habitats that support bees.

Forest industry job fair added to Sawtech Expo

A forest industry job fair could be the highlight for some at the SawTech Log Expo in Bancroft June 10 to 12. That aspect of the event will be part of a larger presentation in the local Curling Club that showcases lots of exhibitors displaying ways of adding value to wood along with various education components. The forestry career and education job fair is being run by the Bancroft Area Forest Industry Association (BAFIA) and Co-ordinator Virginia deCarle says “With the forest industry being the main economic driver in this area and supporting over 180,000 jobs across Ontario, it’s important to educate young people along with the general public about the opportunities there are working in forestry.”

Local hospital shows off its commitment to rural health care

Last week, the claim was made loud and proud: the North Hastings hospital is one of the best in all of rural Ontario. The claim was made by Kim Bishop, fund development chair, and Tammy Davis, hospital site manager, to representatives of the municipalities it serves. Davis even contended that North Hastings stacks up well when compared to city hospitals.

MV candidates duke it out

It was perhaps appropriate that the all-candidates meeting for Madawaska Valley took place in a hockey arena.

TD Bank helps community gardens

As a TD bank manager, Ron Brown is obviously fond of the colour green. On Friday, he added a new shade when he presented a cheque for $3,000 to Harvest the North to allow them to expand their community gardens.

New Bancroft Legion exec prepares for year ahead

Bancroft branch 181 of the Royal Canadian Legion has a clear vision of its mission and objectives. First and foremost, the 2016-17 executive members declared, is to help veterans. Concurrent responsibilities are to encourage remembrance and support the community.

« Previous Page — Next Page »