What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity – short for biological diversity – is the variety of life on Earth, from the variety of species, to the variety within species, to the variety of ecosystems. The more variety of species and ecosystems there are, the easier it is for our natural environment to recover from change. Biodiversity is also about how everything interacts. A loss of one species through habitat destruction or pollution affects the lives of other species, including human beings who depend on a wide variety of species and the services they perform in our daily lives.

 

The Niagara Escarpment is a spectacular geological formation that has created a mosaic of ecosystems, habitats, and species unlike anywhere else in the world. As a UNESCO World Biosphere, the Niagara Escarpment is internationally recognized for its biodiversity and for the important role local communities have had in its protection. Through habitat protection and stewardship, connecting people responsibly to nature, and engaging communities in conservation action, the Bruce Trail Conservancy plays a leading role in reducing biodiversity loss and advancing its recovery.

To learn more about all of the habitats along the Niagara Escarpment or to meet some of the Species at Risk that live along our trail: https://brucetrail.org/what-we-do/#escarpment-biodiversity

 Why is Biodiversity so important?

Why is biodiversity so important? The answer is simple. We all want to continue living in a country where we can watch birds, go fishing, walk in nature, swim in lakes and rivers, and do all the activities that take us outdoors while enjoying fresh air and clean water. The diversity of life is essential for us to enjoy these simple pleasures.

Examples of nature at work can be found everywhere: the process by which plants filter carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for us to breathe; the naturally occurring filtering of drinking water; the species responsible for enriching the soil in which we grow food; the pollination of plants that enables new seeds to grow; the role of oceans in the regulation of our climate. Biological diversity is vital to maintaining life on Earth and to ensuring a clean, safe and sustainable environment.

Habitat loss, the spread of non-native species, climate change, pollution and overconsumption all contribute to a decline in the variety of living species and threaten nature as we know it. It is a good thing that Canadians and other people around the world are recognizing this issue and are taking action.

References: 

Bruce Trail Conservancy website - brucetrail.org

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/biodiversity/publications/why-biodiversity-is-important-to-you.html

What is the Niagara Bruce Trail Club doing?

The Niagara Bruce Trail Club’s Biodiversity Committee purpose is to facilitate the protection and enhancement of biodiversity along the Niagara Bruce Trail corridor through:

- Education - work parties, educational hikes, social media, newsletters, signage

- Developing and managing programs to rehabilitate properties - including, but not limited to, monitoring and controlling invasive species & monitoring and planting native Ontario species

- Coordinating and reporting on plant and animal species monitoring programs including the Bluebird box program and disease resistant elm tree plantings & monitoring of our Nature Reserves

Check out our blog to see what’s been happening http://niagarabrucetrail.club/wp/blog/

 

How to get involved?

If you’d like to get involved email aliciaaitchison1@gmail.com to get added to our email list & keep up to date on what’s happening!

 

The Bruce Trail Conservancy is a charitable organization committed to establishing a conservation corridor containing a public footpath along the Niagara Escarpment, in order to protect its natural ecosystems and to promote environmentally responsible public access to this UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.  Money raised by the conservancy and its clubs goes toward purchasing land for the trail and to maintaining the trail for future generations.