FRIENDS OF PETRIE ISLAND

AMIS DE L’ÎLE PETRIE

www.petrieisland.org

 

Final Report to the City of Ottawa for the 2005 Summer Season 

November, 2005

 

This was FOPI’S eighth year of operation and its first with the new beach open. The City provided lifeguards and daily maintenance. The construction of beach facilities was delayed and temporary washrooms, food concession, lifeguard office and storage was provided. Petrie Island drew people from across the region, including day camps from Rockland, Kanata and Centertown.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

§         FOPI operated the picnic area and nature trails for the eighth year.

§         Expanded interpretive program, improved the Nature Centre, holding special events, presenting slide shows and giving tours.

§         Participated with the Ottawa Stewardship Council in constructing an amphibian pond on Muskrat trail; Amphibian Conservation Club contributed $400 and FOPI contributed $3,000 in volunteer labour

§         Funds generated included: $3,000 in grants, $400 in donations and a value of  $18,000  in volunteer labour

§         Worked with S.P.I.R.I.T. and Petrie Island Outdoor Club to develop programs at the Island

§         Participated in Canada Day and recreation of Voyageur trip for French educational TV

§         People from around Ottawa and area are discovering Petrie Island, showing this is a regional not just an east-end facility.

§         The park was officially opened on Canada Day with the Steumer beach/park, Grandmaître Ecological Reserve area, the Bill Holland Trail and the Al Tweddle Picnic Area dedicated by the City.

 

ORGANIZATION

§         Continued contacts with various associations: Ottawa Field Naturalists’Club (OFNC), Ottawa Duck  Club, Ottawa Stewardship Council, local community associations, Riverkeeper, SHELL (Turtle Club), Ottawa Forestry Advisory Committee, Amphibian Conservation Club, Sonshine Families (S.P.I.R.I.T) and Petrie Island Outdoor Club (PIOC)

§         Organizational and City funds were used to hire students for monitoring and maintenance

§         A second HRSS student grant ($3,000) was applied to our interpretive program

 

SITE IMPROVEMENTS - FOPI

§         Improved trails and picnic area by resurfacing and reseeding and adding 2 short trails in the picnic area.

§         Improved the cottage for use as an interpretive centre, including more display space and storage, handicapped ramp and bookshelves for new books

§         Majority of work was done Wednesday mornings; two work days were also attended by the general public.

§         Many Scout, Guide and other groups participated in general cleanups.

§         Constructed amphibian pond, 20 X 30’, with a bridge and sign, in cooperation with the Ottawa Stewardship Council

§         Extended the Wildlife Garden area

§         City installed lifeguard chairs,  trailer, storage containers and sound system for beach operation

§         City provided new animal-proof garbage containers

§         The City installed new signs for beach, trails, parking and picnic area. Most of the signs are symbols rather than written, causing some confusion. More detailed signs with wording need to be installed at the island and park entrance, especially emphasizing “No Dogs”, curfew hours and “No Alcoholic Beverages”.

 

OPERATIONS

§         Daily cleanup and monitoring of the picnic and natural area was provided by Friends of Petrie Island, using volunteers and students hired with City grant money - $3,000, along with an HRSS grant of $3,000. Monitoring is important to protect the environment and for public safety and has led to reduced levels of vandalism and damage

§         FOPI again worked with City staff to protect trees from beavers (wrapped trees with wire mesh).

§         The City provided 12 portable rental toilets (5 months) for picnic and beach area, maintenance, materials and grass cutting as well as daily garbage collection and beach grooming

§         City provided regular lifeguards from mid-June to the end of August for the three beach areas

§         The beach was closed 11 of 71 days due to high E-coli readings - see Appendix A

§         Parking – accommodates approx. 230 cars, or 40 less than the 270 spaces planned. A maximum of over 500 cars was recorded north of the causeway, with approx. 100 parked along the road outside the park and another 130 along the road inside the park but outside of designated areas on three occasions. There were 6 days when more than 350 cars were parked at one time – this is approximately the maximum number of legally parked cars. Traffic problems were reduced when a parking attendant was present on the entrance road, and this practice should be continued on peak days next year.  (see Appendices A & B)

§         Regular dragging of the sand areas should be reconsidered, as in addition to creating dust on windy days it disturbs turtle breeding and the clean sand is now mixed with stones and other garbage. The sand areas should be cleaned to bring them back to their original state.

§         Spring flooding did not close park but nature  trails were closed  for several weeks in April/May

§         Increased use of picnic area by large groups (over 40) may require booking permits in future

 

ATTENDANCE

§         Attendance in May, June and July increased over last year due to hot weather and full beach operation

§         Attendance figures are based on car counts multiplied by 2.5 persons in May/June and 3.0 persons in July/August – figures represent person-hours of use.

§         Figures are found in Table 1 and Appendix A. The attendance was based on the use of the entire park area inside the gate; on busy days this figure was adjusted to include cars parked outside the gates.

§         There were 69 (38 last year) days when attendance exceeded 1,000 and 33 (12 in 2004) days when it exceeded 3,000, as well as 12 (1 in 2004) days over 5000. One-day maximum was 10,443. Figures do not include Canada Day – estimate 24,000

§         The attendance from May to September was 284,377 (133,00 in 2004)

 

INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

§         The second year of the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant was completed in March

§         Official photographer Jim Robertson completed a fourth slide show on birds, and  there were 18 slide show presentations. The shows were downloaded 1250 times from the internet

§         Jim Robertson also posted 27 regular reports on Petrie Island wildlife and plants with pictures which were downloaded 1890 times. Bill Bower also posted reports.

§         Opened the centre daily in July and August and on weekends in May, June and September, over 300 people visited the centre on busy days

§         Updated the Petrie Island handbook using the Trillium grant

§         Eight theme days were held with nature displays, including a sixth Wildflower Walk and a fifth Turtle Day

§         Made presentations and gave tours to Scout, Guide and school groups

§         FOPI website (www.petrieisland.org) continues to receive considerable traffic and generate positive comments; many visitors mention the website as the reason for their visit

§         Various FOPI events and articles on Petrie Island have been featured in local TV and newspapers, including the Voyageur stopover at Petrie for French educational TV

§         Served on steering committee for Sonshine Families and assisted in operation and training of staff, to run summer day camps and canoe/kayak lessons with a provincial grant

§         Provided support for formation of the Petrie Island Outdoor Club

 

ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION tc "ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION " \l 4

§         Turtle counts on Turtle Bay by FOPI members – in progress and compared with last year. Maximum  single count along Turtle Trail increased to 61 over 55 last year

§         Wood duck boxes (Ottawa Duck Club) were again well used, 10 baby ducks were seen exiting the one next to the info centre, 9 of the 12 boxes were occupied

§         Cooperated with Environment Canada on a project to measure shoreline pollution

§         Despite some publicity/concerns about decreasing wildlife our regular members report no significant changes in the area

§         The number of people using the nature trails on hot summer days when the beach area was full was very low – less than 10 people per hour compared with approx 100 people on theme days

§          FOPI will be participating in a Riverwatch program for Riverkeepers on the Ottawa River

§         The largest amount of damage continues to be from beavers cutting mature trees

§         We had a Japanese University graduate assisted in the interpretive centre in the fall as part of her studies

 

FOPI SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING:

§         Completion of the beach park plan with proper drainage and furnishings and amenities such as playgrounds, food concession, picnic shelters, adequate washrooms, etc.

§         A management plan for the Islands for the interim and long term including policies to protect the environmentally-sensitive areas including local community input

§         Use of the downstream bay (Cumberland Bay) for canoe, kayak and dinghy launching, as well as shore fishing

§         We support an additional  80 parking spots, but do not feel any more land should be used for parking

§         We strongly oppose an interprovincial bridge at Petrie Island

§         The banning of dogs on Petrie Island and increased enforcement of regulations re: boats, feeding of animals, and 9:00 p.m. curfew, although we feel there should be better signage, i.e. spelled out as opposed to using symbols 

§         We support the stationing of staff along the entrance road on weekend days to control access and inform public of rules

§         Expansion of the surface treatment of the main access (Trim) road, for dust control and pedestrian/cyclist safety. This should also include the parking lots

§         The addition of a bicycle lane along the access road to the causeway

§         FOPI supports the Grandmaître boat launch plan

§         We support regular bus service or a shuttle to Petrie Island during the summer

§         Review of sand maintenance procedures

 

PROPOSALS FOR 2006

§         Development of long term plans for Petrie Island

§         Establishment of a community-based committee to work with City staff on the overall year-round operation of the Island

§         Same operating season as 2005, May to October

§         Continued support of Police and increased Bylaw Enforcement presence to keep area safe

§         Continue to improve cottages/info centre and programs, including restoration of the 2^nd cottage

§         Development of environmental programs on the island for youth

§         Raising the road by 1' in the low spots to ensure year-round access, for safety (fire, police) as well as convenience         

 

           

Al Tweddle, Chair, Friends of Petrie Island

(613) 824-1188

hatweddle@rogers.com

 

 

FRIENDS OF PETRIE ISLAND FINANCES 2005

                                                                                   

Balance from previous year                                                                            $3580.22                    

REVENUE

CITY GRANT                                                                                                               3,060  

HRSS                                                                                                                          2,993

Subtotal revenue                                                                                                         6053

 

DONATIONS

Amphibian Conservation Club                                                                                    400                 

 

Subtotal donations                                                                                                      400

 

Memberships                                                                                                              285

Sales of CDs, soft drinks, Info centre small donations                                              537.50

Tours                                                                                                                           40

TOTAL REVENUE                                                                                                     $7,315.50

 

EXPENDITURES

Administration                                                                                                             144.11

Construction supplies                                                                                                 478.67

                                                                                                                                    40.55

Display materials                                                                                 

Subtotal expenditures                                                                                                  

 

Wages                                                                                                                        5,773.74

Wage benefits                                                                                                            393.74

Subtotal wages                                                                                                    

Bank charges                                                                                                               35.55

TOTAL EXPENDITURES                                                                                         6,937.12

 

 

Balance to Sept 20, 2005                                                                                           $3,958.60

 

 

 

 

FRIENDS OF PETRIE ISLAND EXECUTIVE

 

Chairman:                                           Al Tweddle

Vice Chairman                                    Rene Cloutier

Secretary                                            Paul Le Fort

Treasurer                                            Steve McPhee

Membership                                        Doug Drouillard

Planning                                              David Villeneuve, Dave Redmond

Members at Large                               Pete Waddell, Jim Robertson, Garret Gow, Gil LeBlanc

Interpretive Program                           Paul LeFort, Al Tweddle, Bill Bower, 

Christine Hanrahan, Jim Robertson, Stephen Darbyshire

 

 

 

 TABLE 1 - PETRIE ISLAND PICNIC AREA ATTENDANCE (Visitor hours)

 

TOTAL ATTENDANCE

 

	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	20042004tc \l3 " 2004 2004	2005
MAY	n.a.	3075	4089	5084	4185	7703	6294	16165
JUNE	510	3943	4617	9517	9479.	20,198	14,436	71213
JULY	277	6852	10,974	18,672	26,062	25,934	48,137	115,072
AUGUST	4576	6196	9881	19,674	26,417	26,363	57,718	60063
SEPTEMBER	2596	3400	4500	8,456	13,044	12,056	27,304	21860
SEASON TOTAL	7959	23,466	34,970	60,403	79187	92,254	153,889	284,377 *

 

* Including Canada Day, total was 308,400

 

TABLE 2 - VOLUNTEER WORKERS

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
WORK HOURS ***	658	479	739	437	925	721
MONITORS & CAPTAINS: HOURS	806	919	453	344	370	433
ORGANIZATIONAL	110	120	160	220	253	260
INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM	250	530	210	370	567	323
TOTAL	1,824	2,048	1,592	1,370	2,115	1737
VALUE @ $7.00/HOUR****	$12,768	$14,336	$11,144	$9,600	$21,150	$17,370
DONATED MATERIAL	$1,100	$3751	$2700	$600	$400	$400
TOTAL Volunteer Value	$13,968	$18,036	$13,844	$10,197	$21,550	17770
Paid Hours	$385	$1,700*	$8,100**	$5,442*	$7,802	5500*
Trillium grants			$11,700	$6700	$4900
HRSS grants					$2500	$3000
Joint Venture grants					$5000	$7000
Total grants			$11,700	$6700	$12,400	$10,000

* Funds from City, community organizations and HRSS,

** Funds from Trillium grant

** Includes students volunteer hours

**** Rate change per hour/ $10.00 in 2004

 

 

 

COMMENTS - 2005

Selection of comments - 115 received at the Nature centre

 

<                    It’s a beautiful island, I don’t think it should be developed

<                    I would like moving animals, posters and wood smoke -   Student

<                    More frogs, other than that this is awesome

<                    Very interesting. Enjoyed every minute - L & J, Gloucester, England

<                    A new discovery. It’s beautiful. Lifeguards are very helpful

<                    Very impressive. Educational. Great place, it’s about time....

<                    We are so blessed to have such beauty as this in our city. 

<                    Grateful. Thanks to the Friends of Petrie Island, a great spot for aquatic recreation. I love the sensitivity to the ecosystem, while at the same time developing the area.  Clearwater, Florida

<                    I like this place. I wish there were more in Kanata

<                    I really, really like it now. I know everything I didn’t know before. It’s awesome - Student

<                    Great place to escape. 

<                    What an amazing discovery after living in Ottawa for 25 years.

<                    Thank you for the identification signs and labels. They answer many questions. .

<                    My first time here and I live in Blackburn Hamlet. Just wonderful

<                    What a find. - E.M. Bells Corners

<                    I brought children from Toronto. Awesome, clean and interesting. Thanks for incorporating a natural environment and family area at a reasonable price. .

<                    G’day mate. Thanks for the E Coli info. S. from Oz, down under

<                    This place is absolutely great. My family and I love it.

<                    Thank you for making this centre, it is lovely. I enjoyed every minute. I really like the snake skin

<                    Cool place, lots of interesting stuff for children

<                    A beautiful oasis in the city

<                    What an exciting find in the Ottawa area. Keep up the fantastic work. We’ll be back

<                    Enjoyed the opportunity to get close to nature, complete with interpretation

<                    What a beautiful place you have created

<                    Keep up the good work, we will do our part whenever we visit

<                    Holy snapping turtle, I had a blast here with my Dad and sister - Student

 

 

			P I  BEACH CONDITIONS		2005		Appendix A
				E-coli counts
DATE	2004	2005	Britannia	Westboro	Mooney	Petrie	SKY	MAX	MAX CAR
	ATTENDENCE				Bay	Island		TEMP	COUNT
01-Jun	40	1080					O	25	68
2	104	1850					PC	28	102
3	96	2340					PC	28	133
4	210	4920					PC	29	346
5	796	5730					PC	28	381
6	822	840					PC	30	55
07-Jun	220	1730					CL	26	109
8	249	300					CL	19	11
9	75	1210					PC	28	80
10	44	1275					PC	30	102
11	174	7404					O	32	320
12	1017	6480					O	31	320
13	1800	650					O	29	58
14	351	424					PC	26	47
15	170	108					HR	21	6
16	375	450	356*	547*	69*	596*	O	18	23
17	273	180	202*	132*	140*	184*	R	15	13
18	275	1061	17*	43*	128*	272*	O	17	36
19	831	2751	8	28	112*	ns	O	19	112
20	2004	1670	17	32	75	80	CL	25	118
21	484	1110	15	84	20	54	LT R	27	71
22	120	1240	21	27	85	35	CL	21	54
23	705	770	26	32	22	39	O	24	54
24	254	2400	25	63	27	61	CL	30	238
25	699	4900	14	58	127	ns	O	32	317
26	519	8694	22	69	389*	242*	PC	30	498
27	828	3311	32	18	375*	47	CL	32	156
28	534	1920	19	24	77	33	PC	32	142
29	89	1496	14	38	154	31	O	28	115
30	488	2110	83	16	162	68	PC	29	137
01-Jul	1104	24000	11	13	49*	39	O	28
2	948	4842	106	27*	62	ns	PC-R	24	285
3	3042	8592	46	46	26	83	CL	27	509
4	3090	3150	16	41	24	48	PC-HR	30	181
5	75	280	44	57*	132	48	O	25	29
6	609	2990	12	36	108	214	CL	25	164
7	81	3460	14	290	84*	80*	CL	25	155
08-Jul	267	1700	8	8*	8	8	PC-HR	23	101
9	321	1920	23	148	ns	ns	O	28	95
10	1842	10443	60	38	22	164	PC	31	568
11	4401	5020	60	26	22	73	CL	33	240
12	294	4674	39	239	48	68	CL	30	218
13	276	1740	36	42*	64	25	PC-HR	30	69
14	96	2180	138	163	281	87	PC	27	110
15	93	4796	26	60	119	408	CL	29	234
16	450	4565	19	53	66*	ns	PC	30	228
17	2151	1062	31	25*	268	73*	O-R	29	59
18	4776	2980	15	64	40	60	O-R	31	215
19	780	3500	18	103	231	72	PC	30	178
20	909	5732	30	37	93*	70	CL	27	279
21	2823	4326	46	55	79	48	CL	31	226
22-Jul	1254	2562	8	57	117	105	O	27	144
23	588	5390	17	34	106*	50	PC	27	222
24	3075	8562	20	38	100*	ns	CL	26	466
25	4278	3822	31	77	19	38	CL	33	174
26	2264	1250	22	48	98	44	O-LR	23	48
27	951	1230	70	131	18	134	O	19	50
28	315	3768	18	138*	31	187*	PC	24	205
29	3912	1896	13	102*	55	196*	PC	25	80
30	1917	3900	14	113*	40	ns*	PC	25	217
31	180	4440	18	53	66	114*	CL	25	251
				E-coli counts
DATE	2004	2005	Britannia	Westboro	Mooney	Petrie	SKY	MAX	MAX CAR
	ATTENDENCE				Bay	Island		TEMP	COUNT
01-Aug	4995	1674	NS	25	49	95	PC	26	92
2	5646	2380	0	41	17	76	PC	34	124
3	363	1883	41	103	119	180	PC-R	30	88
4	2658	3000	0	89	188	65	PC-R	33	153
5	699	3145	58	101	17	180	CL	28	153
6	444	6240	0	89	31	288	CL	28	325
7	1101	5712	0	127	39	242	CL	30	361
08-Aug	1644	2778	17	114	104	114	CL	32	121
9	3618	3162	0	87	21	67	CL	32	131
10	198	576	87	46	87	15	R	32	27
11	522	2598	0	800	223	163	CL	28	123
12	1214	636	NS	82	114	336	LR	22	42
13	114	3042	NS	147	64	79	PC	28	141
14	1770	1170	NS	314	144	77	O	23	53
15	4875	2246	14	85	352	27	PC	27	107
16	2496	3060	0	84	82	31	CL	28	157
17	2757	2086	31	76	73	30	PC	23	104
18	1098	1100	0	143	447	44	O	19	44
19	936	450	11	136	44	56	R	16	16
20	1890	504	NS	123	42	54	O	21	25
21	1113	3240	22	126	399	NS	PC	27	180
22	4242	500	NS	NS	NS	NS	PC	21
23	456	574	NS	192	166	44	PC	20	27
24	1296	1400	19	139	48	54	O	22	80
25	3309	3423	0	52	104	44	CL	27	110
26	1737	3045					CL	27	180
27	360	3955					PC	28	204
28	3828	2786					PC	28	158
29	387	1570				stop	PC	30	98
30	381	1233				lifeguard	O	26	59
31	1038	200					O	22	15
01-Sep	975	1200					PC	26	61
2	840	812					O	26	42
3	1926	587					R	23	32
4	2927	1995					CL	20	116
5	3618	4446					CL	23	232
6	2199	784					CL	27	59
7	145	826					CL	27	49
8	301	150					R-PC	19	12
9	30	282					PC	21	17
10	490	674					CL	19	53
11		2300					CL	23	116
TOTAL
MAY	6294	16165						weekwends and
JUNE	14436	71213						holidays
JULY	48137	115072					O	overcast
AUG	57718	60063					C	clear
SEPT	27304	21860					PC	part cloud
TOTAL	153889	284373
Open			69	52	53	60
Closed *			2	19	18	11