Friends of Killarney Park - Programs & Events

Learn about 2006 A Year of Achievements Learn about the Campground Clean up and Rehab Weekend Learn about the Park Once Challenge Learn about the Acid Lake Recovery Research Learn about the Naturalist Pack Loan Program Learn about Silver Peak Graffiti and Debris Removal 2006-A Year of Achievements 2006 marked the 20th anniversary of the Friends and what a busy and productive year it was. Guided by strong strategic and fundraising plans and a dedicated board of directors, membership, and staff, the Friends were able to undertake many valuable Killarney Park and area enhancement projects. Thanks to all our friends for their continued generosity. Killarney Art Show Friends of Killarney Park held the first Killarney Art Show this year. Held at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall in the town of Killarney on July 29^th-30^th, the show exhibited 12 artists and attracted hundreds of visitors. Artists exhibited and sold paintings in watercolour, acrylic and oil, as well as photography and carvings that highlighted the wilderness of Killarney. The enormous success of the show will go along way to help this to become an annual event. Killarney Health Centre Friends of Killarney Park supported the Killarney Health Centre Building Fund with a $5000 donation. With the number of Killarney campers and Friends members who have needed to use the services of the Killarney Health Centre over the years, Friends felt it was important to ‘give back’ to the centre and help to fund the new building. We are happy to announce that the building was finished in the spring of 2006. Top Of Page Park Trail Improvements Friends’ volunteers, with the support of Ontario Parks and financial funding through Shell Environmental Fund constructed a new boardwalk across the outflow of Kakakise Lake. This 50 foot long boardwalk has replaced the unstable remnants of an old beaver dam and has improved the safety of hikers as well as enhancing the local ecology by restoring the free flow of Kakakise creek. New directional trail signs were erected at many intersections on the park hiking trails. Numbered signs replaced the many missing posts along the Granite Ridge and Cranberry Bogs Trails that correspond with the interpretive stops in the trail guides. Graffiti Clean Up For over three decades, graffiti marred certain sections of Silver Peak and Johnnie Lake. During the summer of 2006, the Friends, working with Ontario Parks, commissioned a helicopter and a professional crew to restore the pristine landscape of Silver Peak. After several hours of grinding, much of the graffiti was removed. In addition, several tons of scrap metal from an old fire tower were also hauled away. Graffiti removal on Johnnie Lake is scheduled for 2007. Information Kiosk The structure for a new information pavilion was constructed outside the George Lake office. This information centre will be tailor-made to meet the growing needs of Killarney visitors. It will serve as a starting point for campers before they begin their journey into the backcountry - a central source of information for education, protection and preservation.The kiosk will include a message board, emergency contact information, safety tips, and information about low-impact camping etiquette. Visitors will have around the clock access to important publications, including the annual park tabloid. The Information Kiosk will feature interpretive displays on the natural and cultural history of Killarney and include information on local sights and attractions in the town of Killarney. Top Of Page Red Shoulder Hawk Survey Friends provided funding to conduct a Red-Shoulder Hawk survey in the spring in Killarney Provincial Park. This study is important because the hawk population is closely linked with timber management practises. The Red Shoulder Hawk is dependant on mature forests and survey data from Killarney Provincial Park can serve as a benchmark of sorts – because we know that the park’s forest habitat will change only as a result of natural factors, Killarney’s data can be used as an important comparative tool against other non-protected areas, where forest management practises may be currently underway. Friends of Killarney Park hired an expert birder Chris Bloome from the Sudbury Ornithological Society to conduct the study. During the three hour early-morning study, two red-shouldered hawks were sighted. Winter Adventure Day This annual event gives visitors, the opportunity to experience Killarney in a different season – winter. Canoeing and swimming are replaced by skiing, snowshoeing and tobogganing. This year, 80 visitors joined Friends in experiencing the winter beauty of Killarney. Events included snowshoe demos, guided ski and snowshoe tours, a BBQ lunch and more. The day’s events concluded at the Killarney Bay Inn with a presentation about local wildlife research by representatives from the Northern Environmental Heritage Institute. Top Of Page Friends of Killarney Park Annual Campground Rehabilitation and Clean-up (May 5th - 7th, 2006) Our Family of Friends Held each year during the beginning of May, the Campground Rehabilitation and Clean-up weekend is one of our major special events of the year. Every season brings out a dedicated and enthusiastic group of volunteers to the park. Under sunny skies, our 12th Annual Campground Rehabilitation and Clean-up, held from May 5th to May 7th, 2006 was once again a resounding success. All together, over 80 volunteers and staff participated. Hard work, great fun, and fabulous food were shared by all. Many thanks to everyone who volunteered their time for these weekend events! Your work is greatly appreciated and your efforts go a long way in ensuring the environmental sustainability of high-use camping areas; thereby allowing visitors the opportunity to enjoy Killarney’s beauty for many years to come.
George Lake Campground: Cleaning and raking of all 130 sites and park roads Rehabilitated 11 campsites Tasks included: Defining site area Leveling site Hardening tent pad areas Covering exposed damaged roots Closing off areas not to be used - social trails Re-vegetation of areas around site.	Georgian Bay Islands Clean Up: Clean Up of 12 popular camping sites Tasks Included: Checking and cleaning fire rings Cleaning litter from site Removal of excess fire rings
Interior Site Clean-up: Clean-up of 13 hike-in and canoe-in sites Tasks Included: Checking and Cleaning fire rings Cleaning litter from site Checking if signs are present and condition of privy.	Other Projects: Cleaning up of garbage along the town of Killarney's shoreline Construction of boardwalk along Silhouette trail Re-vegetation in Chikanishing Access point area Painting interior of winter warm-up shack Staining Amphitheatre benches
Top Of Page Park Once Challenge In the summer of 2003 Killarney Provincial Park became the first in the province to actively encourage campers to refrain from using motorized vehicles after setting up camp. By walking or bicycling to the beach, amphitheatre, comfort station or the park office, campers will significantly reduce harmful emissions of smog causing pollutants, lower levels of noise associated with automobile use, and reduce the number of required parking areas. Each participant will be given a ribbon to be placed on their car during their stay in the George Lake campground. Upon departure from the park, if you have met the Challenge and not used your vehicle (with the exception of driving to areas outside the campground), fill in the Park Once form, available at the park office, and enter a draw for a brand new mountain bike. In the summer of 2006, we had close to 200 camper families enter the Challenge. The Friends thank all participants and applaud their efforts to reduce air and noise pollution. Let's build on our success in 2006. Acid Lake Recovery Research Recovery of Acid Damaged Lakes in Killarney Provincial Park The Friends of Killarney Park are dedicated to the recovery of the Killarney landscape and the damaging effects of acid rain. Over the past three years, we have contributed $20.000.00 to the research and monitoring efforts of the Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit (Laurentian University). The Killarney Provincial Park landscape is dominated by the La Cloche Mountain Range. The characteristic white ridges of the La Cloche Mountains, is composed primarily of orthoquartzite bedrock which is highly resistant to erosion and has little buffering capability against acid precipitation. In addition to the sensitive bedrock geology, the park is located just 40-60km southwest of the large metal smelters in Sudbury and within a continental zone of high acid deposition originating from a vast array of long-range industrial sources. The lakes of Killarney were among the first lakes in North America to be acidified by atmospheric pollutants. Some of the lakes began to acidify as early as the 1920's. By the late 1970's the estimated losses from dozens of lakes totaled thousands of individual populations of fish, crayfish, algae, aquatic insects and microscopic plankton. Loons and ducks - waterfowl that depend on fish and invertebrates for food also declined. Between the 1960's and the mid-1990's a combination of legislated control programs and modernization initiatives by industry reduced Sudbury smelter emissions by 80%. In addition, sulphur dioxide emissions from all sources were reduced by 50% in eastern Canada, and by 20% in the United States. The combined effect of these emission reductions is that water quality improvements have begun in many acid-stressed lakes in Killarney Park. Despite the observed improvements, many of the lakes in Killarney Park remain quite acidic. It is therefore clear that pollution levels are not yet low enough to protect all water bodies. Further reductions will be needed throughout North America if the full recovery of all acid-damaged lakes is to occur. During the summer of 2006, researchers from Laurentian University continued this valuable work by conducting a survival assessment of stocked lake trout in three lakes (George, Bell, Johnnie). Top Of Page Naturalist Pack Loan Program When going on a day hike don't forget to borrow a Friends of Killarney Park Naturalist Pack! Packs are available free of charge at the George Lake Outpost. Naturalist Packs Include: • Mountain Equipment Co-op Knapsack • Bushnell Binoculars • First Aid Kit • Silva Compass • Fox 40 Whistle • Killarney Provincial Park Map • Granite Ridge and Cranberry Bog Trail Guides • Assorted Field Guides (optional) • Motorola two way radios New! For the budding artist we now also have watercolor artist packs available. Top Of Page

Silver Peak Graffiti and Debris Removal

For over three decades, graffiti marred certain sections of Silver Peak and Johnnie Lake. During the summer of 2006, the Friends commissioned a helicopter and a professional crew to restore the pristine landscape. Several tons of scrap metal from an old fire tower were also removed.

Would you like us to consider supporting a particular Preservation, Protection or Education project for Killarney Park, then please submit a proposal based on the attached criteria


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