$307,300 grant will support OFAH’s Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program
PETERBOROUGH — On Thursday, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) brought Mr. Pelude’s Grade Six class at St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School some new classmates in the form of 100 Atlantic Salmon eggs. Local MPP Jeff Leal and Roy Wood, an Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) volunteer were also there to formally announce the $307,300 Grow grant OFAH received late last year to grow the Atlantic Salmon classroom hatchery program over a three-year span from 2019 to 2021.
“It is great to see the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters engaging our youth to be the next environmental stewards. I am pleased that our government, through the Ontario Trillium Foundation, partnered with this amazing organization to help youth understand their environment, the impacts they have on it and ways to keep our natural resources healthy for future generations,” said The Hon. Jeff Leal, MPP for Peterborough.
The three-year, $307,300 OTF Grow grant will support an education coordinator for the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program’s classroom hatchery program, who will focus on developing curriculum-linked teaching materials and educational and technical support videos. Additionally, starting in January 2019, 10 new OTF-funded classroom hatchery units will be added annually to several area schools. The Atlantic Salmon classroom hatchery program has students raising 100 eggs from January to May before releasing the young fish in rivers targeted for the restoration of this historical species.
“The Ontario Trillium Foundation grant will help us bring the great hands-on science experience that schools like St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School have had to 30 more schools and over 1,500 students in the next three years,” said Angelo Lombardo, Executive Director of the OFAH. “More than just the fish raised, this program also fosters interest in Ontario’s watersheds and natural resources, producing future stewards and leaders who will make sure that once we bring Atlantic Salmon back, we are able to keep them here because we have a healthy environment for them and us.”
The OFAH is a lead partner with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry on the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program, which is supported by lead sponsor Ontario Power Generation, and is a partnership of over 40 government agencies, conservation NGOs, and corporate sponsors. Since 2006, the program has stocked millions of young Atlantic Salmon into Lake Ontario’s rivers, completed more than 230 habitat restoration projects on those rivers, and worked with over 100 classroom hatcheries in schools and other institutions across the north shore of Lake Ontario. This long-term recovery effort is now seeing encouraging signs of the species’ restoration, including adult Atlantic Salmon in the rivers.
An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation is one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities. www.otf.ca
For more information:
Shawn Cayley, Manager of Communications
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
705-748-6324 ext. 270
shawn_cayley@ofah.org
Chris Robinson, Manager of Conservation Programs
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
705-748-6324 ext. 240
chris_robinson@ofah.org