In a world awash in greenwash, we are a trusted, honest voice for Lake Simcoe. The Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition focuses on the issues of most significant concern for the current and future health of the lake. In 2024 we worked on.
Lake Health
We remain the biggest defenders of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act and Plan (LSPP) legislation we helped get passed in 2008, through our Protect Our Plan campaign.
On World Water Day we joined a press conference at Queens Park which asked the provincial government to:
● Start work on Lake Simcoe’s phosphorus recycling facility (still no word on that);
● To make a plan to reduce phosphorus to 44 tons per year as per the LSPP (also nothing);
● To evaluate the impacts of sprawl and the Bradford Bypass on Lake Simcoe (also nothing).
In the summer, we publicly rang the alarm when there was total silence from government officials on a rash of beach closures due to blue green algae outbreaks, forcing the Minister of Environment to write a silly op-ed claiming responsibility for things they didn’t do and resting on promises rather than results.
Opposing polluting projects
We did a deep dive into the fisheries studies of the Bradford Bypass, and are trying to hold the provincial and federal government to account. Federal MP, Leah Taylor Roy, read our petition to the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in Ottawa this fall.
We released a petition to the Ontario Minister of Transportation asking for a value for money audit, an examination of alternatives, and the traffic justification for this multi-billion dollar highway project. In September we co-hosted, with the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, a super fun and vibrant Healthcare not Highways rally in Newmarket.
Proposing solutions for salt pollution
Lake Simcoe has a massive and growing salt pollution problem. Climate change and phosphorus pollution combined with road salt create the conditions for Blue Green Algae blooms, so this is no small thing. With Water Watchers, we work with groups from Niagara to Sudbury on an Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition. We co-hosted an interactive phone zap and a fantastic event on the Barrie waterfront (For the Love of Water). We have met with Municipal elected officials, topic experts, and are ready to roll out a municipal engagement strategy over the next six months.
All of this goes into policy platform ideas, which we have shared with all Ontario provincial parties. Two parties showed interest and we talked with their policy people. https://rescuelakesimcoe.org/briefing-note-lake-simcoe-all-parties-2024-final/
Supporting community groups
We wrote at least eleven letters to three levels of government, and signed onto a bunch more written by larger environmental organizations we cooperate with.
We convene the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario which is a newer collection of local people and groups, representing a broad segment of society, from healthcare and unions to farmers and activists. Together, we share progressive information with the media and public. Big thanks to all these volunteers for doing outreach and education about sprawl, housing solutions, and the impacts of highways, all over York Region!
Outreach and education
Our free, curriculum-linked education program engages youth and families, builds ecological literacy, and inspires environmental action. Led primarily by volunteers, the hands-on program for Grades 2-8 connects students to the Lake Simcoe watershed through interactive activities, fostering a deep understanding of local ecosystems. In 2024 we educated 560 youth and their families at 14 events all over the watershed, through libraries, schools, and community events!! Wowza!
Our two Canada Summer Jobs students went to 10 summer fairs and festivals to share information and sign people up for our campaigns about salt pollution, the Bradford Bypass, phosphorus pollution and the health of Lake Simcoe. We miss them!
Being seen and heard
As a small but mighty organization we rely heavily on media and social media for getting our messages out. This year was pretty spectacular, with the RLSC being in 26 media stories so far this year! We are averaging three per month! See it all here https://rescuelakesimcoe.org/media-coverage/
This year we were lucky to work with a retired MNRF fisheries conservation officer to create our most popular blog, What happened to 1.2 million whitefish stocked into Lake Simcoe? We’re getting better at engaging members of the lake’s fishing community, one of our goals.
Our talented summer students researched and wrote a ton of blogs on hot topics. The writing is great and I really recommend you check them out!
- Blue green algae blooms
- Oak Wilt
- Making the connection between sprawl and increasing GHG emissions in our daily lives
- The impacts of salt pollution on Lake Simcoe’s food chain
- Zeroing in on zooplankton – what is it and why does it matter that salt is hurting them?
Who’s supporting us?
- Three people like you donated a total of $25,000! Let’s keep it coming!
- We raised $6600 at our Laugh for Lake Simcoe Fundraiser, and our corporate sponsors came in at $11,000!
- $5000 from the Helen McCrea Peacock Foundation for our work on the Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition. Freshwater Future has long supported our work at Lake Simcoe now including salt pollution, in a small but consistent way.
- Echo Foundation has supported our work on Bradford Bypass.
- Orillia and Area Community Foundation funded education in north Simcoe.
- McLean Foundation supports our work, recognizing the vital importance of strong advocacy in central Ontario.
- Federal government grant via the Barrie Community Foundation to create a proper contacts management database; started using fee-free Zeffy for donations and newsletters; eliminated Mailchimp and its costs from our overhead.
Thank you for caring. Keep on sharing and donating, so we can grow this movement for a sustainable, affordable, and liveable future in Ontario, and at Lake Simcoe.
Support us doing this important work, here https://rescuelakesimcoe.org/donate/