Volunteers help plant 1,000 plants at wetland site
Community members help to plant 1,000 plants at Oakes property wetlands near Holmesville
Volunteers helped to plant 1,000 wetland-friendly plants at a local property owner’s wetland project near Holmesville. The community planting at the Oakes family property took place on Monday, September 22, 2025.
Members of the Goderich Lions Club, local residents, and a retiree from Ducks Unlimited Canada, were among the volunteers who took part. Also planting native species of plants at the wetland restoration were staff from Ausable Bayfield Conservation, Maitland Conservation, County of Huron, and Huron Stewardship Council.
Rachel White is Stewardship Coordinator with Huron Stewardship Council (HSC).
“We are going to plant about 1,000 plants,” she said at the planting event. “These will help diversify the wetland, help wildlife, and filter water.” About 17 people generously gave of their time to help, she said.
Angela Van Niekerk is Wetlands Specialist at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA). The volunteers planted native species of plants at three of six wetlands on the property. The plants included pollinator plants for bees, moths, and butterflies. The plant species included Joe-pye Weed; Tall Sunflower; Sweet Oxeye; Blue Flag; Dense Blazing Star; and Cardinal Flower.
“They’re native plants so they are used to our weather conditions; heavy rains and drought,” she said.
Wetland projects like this one could not happen without the support of participating landowners like the Oakes family, Van Niekerk said. They have turned about 18 acres of their property into natural habitat through planting of trees and native species of shrubs and wetland plants.
Most wetland enhancement projects are completed on the properties of landowners who choose to enhance these areas or retire a section of their property to build up the natural features for water quality and water quantity benefits and for wildlife habitat. Over the ensuing months, it is expected there will be more wildlife at the wetland.
A wider diversity of habitats and plants attract more deer, birds, and insects, such as dragonflies that call the wetland home and as the plants grow the wetland will become more robust.