DASSP has followed up with Jorge, from Toronto Parks, on this important issue (please see our earlier post).
The dog park remains largely inaccessible to our members in wheelchairs (both manual and power) due to the uneven tree roots and post rain mud and mire.
Please stay tuned. We are hoping to have this sorted or at least an update before the autumn rainy season.
The Brain Injury Society of Toronto is currently presenting an Art Exhibition at the Assembly Hall entitled "ART ON THE BRAIN" until June 14.
These talented disabled artists have produced quite a thought provoking array of pieces. Please drop in and have a look on your way in or out of Sam Smith Park over the next few weeks.
Apologies to the artists for the poor quality of my pics.
After a long wait since late last summer, TRCA has finally installed the final two Bat Boxes in the Park, opposite the Observation Deck!
These are maternity boxes, so hopefully they will increase the number of little Brown Bats in SSP, as the species is drastically declining due to white nose disease.
Jessica of Toronto Parks stated; "The boxes were paired on the two best options with the S or E orientation and were labelled with large number markings so they can be distinguished from the viewing platform should anyone wish to report any activity".
These boxes are not black, as the previous bat boxes were, and can be seen from the observation deck, as Jessica mentioned.
Let's all hope for lots of exciting and enhanced bat watching in the Park this summer!
By mid-December, the tree-mounted bat boxes will installed at approximately 4-5m in height along a south or east facing forest edge or on a stand-alone tree. This reduces the amount of shading they receive, and allows them to be more easily discovered than if the boxes are installed inside forest cover.
Placement of the tree mounted boxes on the island will reduce the likelihood of mammalian predation and close proximity to productive foraging sites.
The proposed bat habitat installations are
located to provide ideal maternity roosting sites. They offer easy access to
forest, water sources and productive foraging grounds. They have relatively
open surroundings but are in close proximity for forest edge. Relatively open,
meadow habitat common through much of the southern portion of the park,
combined with adjacent wetland and waterfront habitat should provide excellent
foraging resources to support productive maternity roosts.
While tree-mounted boxes are often considered less favorable for a number of reasons, they provide conditions that may be beneficial under certain scenarios such as extreme summer heat. In addition, they may also be used by male bats and juvenile females that are not rearing young. These are often installed in pairs to provide a wider array of conditions at each location.
Many thanks to Jessica at TRCA for all of her assistance to us on this project, and to Rob and Vesty of DASSP for the pics.
Let's hope that our May bat count will be an improved one, with lots of healthy, juvenile bats!
