Rebecca Rooney, Co-Principal Investigator, Professor of Biology and head of the Waterloo Wetland Laboratory, was featured in CBC news, video and radio to speak about the importance of wetlands as provincial changes come into effect to the designation of provincially protected wetlands.
The media stories come as 55 hectares of wetlands in Ottawa’s rural west-end lose their provincially significant wetlands status. These wetlands were part of the Golbourn wetlands complex, a valuable group of marshes and swamps, that no longer fall under top-level provincial protection, leaving them exposed to potential disruption or development.
In the news stories, Rebecca explains how wetlands provide many functions: they soak up water that can protect from flooding; they release water during periods of drought; they act as carbons sinks; and, they’re provide habitat to a quarter of Ontario’s species at risk. These last two functions are being explored in the RISE project through Activity 6 to understand the benefits of wetlands in residential developments.
Rebecca emphasizes that location matters: wetlands should be spread out across the landscape in a way that benefits the most people, and we should be protecting the wetlands that are most important. Wetlands in residential areas can have a positive impact by soaking up floodwater, thereby protecting basements from flooding, and purifying water, helping the quality of the local drinking water supply.
Rebecca emphasizes that we should be protecting our wetland “superheroes” – or those labelled provincially significant – as they are too valuable to lose.