By the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed
The ash from Muskoka’s fireplaces and woodstoves can help the region’s forests and waterways, protect vital aquatic creatures, and even increase the amount of maple syrup we produce.
And thanks to a $733,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a three-year study beginning in January will determine the best ways to get the ash where it can do the most good.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation has announced a $733,600 grant to the HATSOFF project, which is coordinated by the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed (FMW). The project will focus on ways to collect the wood ash, as well as doing field tests to determine exactly how much ash should be spread in different types of forests. “This is a great example of how individual community members can work together to make a real difference for our local ecosystem,” said Norman Miller, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka. “I encourage residents to take part in this project and I look forward to seeing the results of the study.”
HATSOFF (Hauling Ash To Save our Forests’ Future) is a unique collaboration between scientists, municipal officials, and property owners, including the region’s maple sugar producers. “We’ve known for a long time that calcium is a key factor in our forests and waterways,” explained Norman Yan, one of the nation’s leading freshwater biologists and the chair of the FMW. “Decades of acid rain have flushed a lot of that calcium away, with widespread environmental effects. But wood ash is an efficient way to return calcium into the forest and from there into the waterways.”
A smaller study, which FMW completed in 2018, confirmed that the ash is not toxic. It also determined that many people who heat with wood are willing to donate their ash and have it spread in the forest. This next phase of study will begin by recruiting 100 to 200 Muskoka residents who are willing to donate their ash. FMW will be partnering with the District Municipality of Muskoka to set up collection sites at waste transfer stations. “In the meantime,” said Yan, “if you want to contribute your ash to help save our forest, please stockpile it for now. Details on where and how to donate it will be coming early in 2019.”
In the first two years of study, five to ten tonnes of ash will be spread in test plots located in sugar bushes in Muskoka. (Sugar maple trees are particularly prone to calcium loss and tend to respond very quickly when calcium levels are restored). Graduate students and research scientists will monitor the sites, studying the impact of the ash on tree growth, bird populations, water quality, and a wide range of other factors. In the final year of the study, FMW aims to have 1,000 Muskoka residents share up to 100 tonnes of ash (believed to be 1/3 of the annual wood ash production in the District), to allow a watershed-level field test. The ultimate goal is to have a province-wide ash collection system, sufficient to supply hundreds of tonnes of ash every year. “This will take tonnes of material out of the landfills and have an enormous impact on the health of our forests and waterways,” said Yan. Since much of the wood burned in southern Ontario came from central Ontario forests, he added, bringing it back to the region closes a recycling loop.
Calcium depletion backgrounder:
Where did all the calcium go? A century of acid rain and historically poor logging practices have flushed calcium from the soil and from the lakes and rivers. Most of Muskoka’s lakes have lost 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the calcium they need. Even though acid rain has largely stopped, and forestry practices have improved, without intervention it will take centuries for calcium levels to rebound.
Why is this a problem? All life needs calcium. In Muskoka, forests are about 2 per cent calcium by weight, and when calcium isn’t available, the trees and other forest plants can’t grow as quickly or efficiently. Many aquatic creatures – particularly hard-shelled creatures like crayfish, turtles and molluscs – are even more dependent on calcium. Crayfish diversity in many lakes has already declined by 25 per cent. When trees aren’t growing as quickly, they can’t capture carbon as efficiently, impacting their ability to help fight climate change. In lakes, the tiny crustacea and molluscs are often filter-feeders, performing a vital function in cleaning our waterways. Just one group of species filters the entire volume of Lake Muskoka every week in the summer.
Is this a problem everywhere? No. The problem is most severe in areas with thin soils, granite bedrock, and a history of being exposed to acid rain. Muskoka and other parts of central Ontario are uniquely positioned to feel the brunt of this problem.
What will wood ash do? Wood ash is about 1/3 calcium by weight, and also contains many other key nutrients. Much of it is absorbed into the soil and quickly taken up by trees and other plants. What isn’t absorbed by the plants will make its way into the lakes.
How much ash will it take? It will take roughly four tonnes of ash per hectare over many thousands of hectares to restore the calcium balance. That is far more ash than Muskoka residents produce. The lessons learned in this three-year study will be used to help develop a province-wide ash recycling program, to bring wood ash from southern Ontario.
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trudy killin says
please let us know when you want this..we have a pile out by our fire pit that is 8 years old on the bottom and we would love to donate it to a worthy cause such as this.
Rob Millman says
Three problems:
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1) $733,000 is an incredibly small amount of money for a 3-year study;
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2) as soon as it costs the province ‘cent one’, the Premier will cancel the program; and
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3) with healthier trees acting as a “carbon sink”, the reduced federal carbon tax will have to be replaced out
of our pockets (although presumably carbon emissions are taxed at source).
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I apologize for being a contrarian (I love the program’s intent), and Mr. (Dr.?) Yan is an amazing resource: It’s mostly a case of watching the province cancel something new (and extremely important) every other day. Unless Doug Ford (or one of his family) owns a sugar bush, this idea has no legs.
Bob Slater says
Hey .. wait a minute .. what about ‘climate change’ and burning wood? Maybe it’s ok? Hypocrisy? .. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/01/pollutionwatch-wood-burning-is-not-climate-friendly .. or …http://www.familiesforcleanair.org/wood-burning-causes-climate-change-inventivizing-new-wood-stoves-isnt-the-solution/ … check it out your self and google .. burning wood and climate change … HMMM
Bob Slater says
Hey … Rob .. NEWS ALERT .. the province is 15 BILLION $$ in debt! .. caused by LIBERALS! .. so give it a rest!.. new sheriff in town .. voted in by the PEOPLE …to clean up the LIBERAL mess! You can not fund every program .. and I am sure … this idea .. or ..program is NOT a priority!
Bill Beatty says
Nobody is going to haul away my Ash . I have been using for years on my own property to mitigate acidic soil and get cars out of the lane way in icy conditions . If you want to talk climate change and Greenhouse Gases try Google for information on factory farms , for the largest source of harmful material for the World’s environment !
Robert Attfield says
I’m sorry to read the negative comments regarding Dr. Yan’s wood ash pilot project. This has nothing to do with factory farms, which admittedly cause huge problems. And it well may be that the Ford Government slashes programmes. However, this is a Trillium Grant, largely funded, unless I’m mistaken, by profits from the OLG. It seems highly unlikely that the Provincial Government will meddle with the distribution of this grant money. Time will tell.
The fact of the matter is that Muskoka’s forest are in a significant calcium deficit. Why would we not support any effort at all to ameliorate that situation? No one will be forced to surrender their wood ash, but in an earlier survey, many residents said they would. It will not be possible to eliminate all wood burning, so why not make use of the ash? This is a “no-brainer”. Humbug to the skeptics. You’re not helping.
Ruth Treloar says
I have a metal drum outside my cottage half filled woth ash and would love to donate it but would be unable to deliver it. I’m sure others have the same issue. Perhaps a special curbside bin dedicated to wood ash alongside the other waste bins would help.
Christopher Hughes says
i have been doing this for years now. the study will show no increase in production or health. the best thing for the ash would be to put it in a bio bag and place it at contaminated sites of inflowing water to lakes as the charcoal works as an excellent filter and even cleans up tannic water which our area seems overly high. the money saved could go to a study or better yet an implementation of said water treatment than into a maple syrup industry that is almost nil. there aren’t many of us that do maple syrup anymore as the yield vs work and materials is unbalanced. maybe put the money towards spawning bed rehabilitation in lake muskoka for the lake trout and whitefish again would be my suggestion.
Bruce Morrow says
I make some maple syrup for friends and family and I do burn wood in my workshop and my sugar camp. I have and will continue to spread my wood ashes around my maple trees. I will be interested to see what the study finds in respect to how much ash is appropriate. Good luck with the study. Unfortunately I don’t have any spare ashes to donate.
Bill Beatty says
I really hope you weren’t referring to me ! I spoke to the Ash issue in an affirmative way and pointed out another cause of global warming which is being ignored. Sorry somebody put Ash in your cornflakes…..