Residents urged to save Lake Simcoe

Residents urged to save Lake Simcoe
Date: 2006-11-10

Local residents are being urged to take action to save Lake Simcoe.
At a gala a few weeks ago, the Naked Truth Citizens’ Action Plan To Save Lake Simcoe was distributed to the public.
Packaged in a colourful, easy-to-read “fan deck”, the plan is the result of input from more than 300 citizens around Lake Simcoe who took photos last July to look at the lake from above, below, on the surface and from shore, images flashed on the screen in the banquet hall.
“You cannot look at those pictures and not be moved,” said chairperson Hilary Van Welter.
Ladies of the Lake co-founder Annabel Slaight said the message from the people who participated was “loud and clear.”
“We must manage the environment as part of daily life. The lake must no longer be an isolated ‘science-fix,’ but plans to save it must be intertwined with economic growth strategies, youth opportunities, innovative grassroots action and more,” she said.
That weekend, organized by the Ladies of the Lake and Windfall, resulted in the unprecedented grassroots movement that culminated in the creation of the Action Plan.
Windfall Ecology Centre’s executive director Brent Kopperson said the cause of Lake Simcoe’s woes, primarily due to global warming and population growth is simple, in the end.
“It is us,” he said.
The diverse plan’s priorities range from changing government policy, sustainable development and healthy shorelines.
It is divided into four sections: A New Way To Plan, exploring how it all began and came together; Vision for Living in the Lake Simcoe Watershed - “drink it, swim it, fish it, love it”; Priorities and Actions — “a menu of ideas”; and Bringing the Plan to Life - “bold possibilities”, ending with a challenge from Ms Van Welter for everyone to get personally involved in some way “to save her” (Lake Simcoe).
For more on the the Naked Truth Citizens’ Action Plan To Save Lake Simcoe, see the web sites www.lakeladies.ca and windfallcentre.ca