NEWS RELEASE
WELLINGTON WATER WATCHERS
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Wellington Water Watchers is proud to announce, as part of the 2018 2Rivers Festival, a presentation and panel discussion on options for managing Canada Geese.
Although they add to the biodiversity of downtown Guelph, and some people enjoy seeing their cute goslings in late spring, Canada geese are increasingly viewed as a menace. The city’s riversides attract many people each year as we seek the pleasure offered by our urban natural spaces.
However, these same places attract an ever-growing population of Canada Geese. As a result, riverside areas are covered with excrement, water quality is diminished, roadside collisions are increasing and incidents involving physical injury have occurred.
Conflict with Canada geese is not a new issue in Ontario, but addressing it requires careful consideration as they are protected under the Migratory Bird Convention Act.
Additionally, if geese issues are not addressed from the beginning of spring, and only once the city has received many complaints half-way through summer, it is too late to address the birds in an ethical manner.
Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service provides requirements and a management plan template for addressing geese. Among non-invasive methods for dealing with geese is allowing grasses to grow tall, and prohibiting the feeding of wildlife.
To address how we can respect Canada geese, while managing the issues ethically and legally, Canada goose specialist Christopher Sharp from Canadian Wildlife Services will provide a presentation.
Following this, a panel and audience discussion will shed some light on the issue, addressing concerns that the public raise, and discussing some of the knowledge that has been gained from research, efforts taken in other communities, and viable solutions. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their challenging goose stories which will feed into the discussion.
After gaining clarity on the issue and potential solutions, participants will be invited to consider options to address the urban goose challenge. Let’s determine how we can balance respecting wildlife with park use and the costs and benefits of working on a solution.
The session will take place on May 24 from 7 - 9 p.m. at City Hall Room 112,
The 2Rivers Festival is a project of the Wellington Water Watchers, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection, restoration and conservation of source water in Guelph-Wellington.
The 2Rivers Festival is a series of free events held annually during the months of May and June to celebrate the beautiful Speed and Eramosa rivers, which meet in the City of Guelph, Ontario. Read more about the 2Rivers Festival and download the 2018 Event Guide.
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