POV: You’re a student in CLASS CODE studying natural hazards and climate change in Rondeau Provincial Park and Erieau.
On a day trip in Southwestern Ontario with Dr. Brent Doberstein, you see first-hand what high lake levels and increasingly ice-free winters can do to coastal infrastructure and properties.The first stop is to Rose Beach Line where the Municipality of Chatham Kent has had to close and reroute traffic around a 1 1/2 km stretch of coastal road due to erosion, at a cost to the Municipality of over $8 million dollars.
The next stop is the provincial park where a park interpreter explained that climate change has been linked to flood events, coastal erosion and changing species compositions, including invasive species such as phragmites and buckthorn.
Last up? Erie Shore Drive where >100 households are fighting against coastal erosion using wooden, stone, concrete and metal protection structures costing tens of thousands of dollars per household, but unfortunately, some homeowners have unfortunately already lost their battle to save their homes.
Before the drive home, you stop at Bayside Brewery to swap field notes for food and a chance to decompress after a full day in the field.
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