Prairie Smoke and Little Bluestem Reserve Alvars, Kawartha Lakes

Prairie Smoke and Little Bluestem Reserve Alvars, Kawartha Lakes

Date:     Thursday May 18, 2023

Time:    10:00 am-3:00 pm

Location:    Meet at the Prairie Smoke Reserve parking lot on Lake Dalrymple Rd. at 10:00 am. It will take approx. 2.5 hours to drive from Kitchener to Lake Dalrymple. More details driving instructions can be provided upon registration.

Leader:    Bob Bowles
Email: rbowles@rogers.com
Phone: (705) 790-8884

Description:    Alvars are one of the rarest ecosystems occurring in only five countries and making up a very small percentage of world ecosystems.  Alvar is a Swedish word to describe unproductive habitat with little vegetation and is best described as a thin layer of soil over limestone bedrock with few trees and shrubs.  However, alvars are habitat to many species of rare alvar flora, lichens, mosses, algae, birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects and animals.

We will visit Prairie Smoke Reserve and Little Bluestem Reserves, both in the Orillia/Kawartha Lakes region and owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.  We will cover about 4-5 kms, walking over flat limestone bedrock.

Bring your camera and binoculars, since you’ll want to capture the glorious displays of rare plants with the many whites and yellows mixing with reds, oranges and blues giving a rainbow of colour of alvar flora.

Alvars flood in the spring and become very dry in summer but there will still be large pools of water on limestone in early June.  Wear waterproof footwear and a hat and carry lots of drinking water since days can be extremely hot with very little shade on the alvar. 

This is a remote area with no washrooms or places to buy food or gas.  Bring your lunch, drinking water and insect repellent for those who use it.

Registration is required by contacting Bob at rbowles@rogers.com