By Gina Pannunzio, Pearl Bradd, Paul Drca and Ian Naisbitt

The above normal temperatures on Saturday, 15 April, 2023 attracted 40 eager community volunteers to the 42nd cleanup of the Little River Watershed. Even a few Essex County Nature elders shuffled their way to Teedie Park in East Windsor. The park is best described as a linear, peaceful corridor on the banks of the Little River that curves around the Canadian Tire Corporation Store site on Tecumseh Road East. The CTC store graciously offered their parking lot for use by the volunteers. Playground equipment does exist on the open space adjacent to Hawthorne Drive.

The cleanup partnership included: Essex Region Conservation Authority, Little River Enhancement Group/ Essex County Nature, City of Windsor, Casino Windsor employees (CodeGreen), 35th Tecumseh Cubs (Scouts), and Detroit River Canadian Cleanup. Enthusiastic community volunteers started before 10 a.m. and worked till 11:30 a.m. to remove accumulated debris and Winter wind blown litter along this portion of the Little River Corridor and Ganatchio Trail. Volunteers collected the litter using gloves, garbage bags and buckets. A Tip of the Cap to Deputy Mayor of Tecumseh Joe Bachetti, MPP Andrew Dowie, and City of Windsor Councillor Angelo Marignani for attending and helping us cleanup the river valley. Challenges experienced by volunteers were the strenuous movement up and down the steep slopes of the Little River valley, some sections of impenetrable vegetation and others with prickly flora. Nevertheless, volunteers willingly accepted these challenges and got to work.

Cleanup events remove items in the environment that can harm local fish and wildlife populations. We would also like to highlight the fact that Little River cleanups also address two of the Beneficial Use Impairments of the Detroit River Area of Concern:

  • Degradation of fish and wildlife populations (BUI # 3).
  • The loss of fish and wildlife habitat (BUI # 14).

Our cleanup was part of the binational Earth Month stewardship initiatives held by partners of the Detroit River Coalition representing organizations from Canada and the United States. The partners represent a binational environmental resource hub for the purpose of plastic pollution removal and protection of the Detroit River.

Presently, there is an environmental study going on that includes Teedie Park: Little River Channel Improvement Class Environmental Assessment (EA), Via Rail to Lauzon Road

EA includes these statements:

  • 387 trees were inventoried: 19 species – (81 %) native species and 19 % non-native species.
  • “Potentially four Species at Risk (SAR) present:
  • Eastern Wood Pewee, Snapping Turtle, Eastern Foxsnake and Prairie Rose.”
  • “Little River Corridor provides an important wildlife movement linkage between the Detroit River and lands south of E.C. Row Parkway. Natural cover limited to a narrow band of vegetation on each bank utilized by a variety of wildlife.”
  • SAR habitat for the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Snapping Turtle, Eastern Foxsnake and Missouri Ironweed identified – additional field surveys prior to construction may be required.”
  • Beaver activities have impacted several large trees.   

Option 6 “Full Natural Channel Design” is the preferred option:

  • Create high quality aquatic habitat
  • Healthy sustainable river
  • Bank and bed erosion will be controlled
  • Naturalization increases resiliency to climate change
  • Will assist in animal nesting ground
  • Long lasting impact on the neighbourhood
  • Will detract people from littering
  • High buy-in from stakeholders

Photo # 1: Shopping Carts and Chair taken from the pedestrian bridge.

We are never surprised to find shopping carts in this section of river. This was the prime reason our group targeted this area as a cleanup site back in 1996. Since then we have literally pulled out hundreds of shopping carts. This was our 17th cleanup at this site to improve the ecosystem health of this section of the river. It will also help our community to delist the Detroit River as an Area of Concern.

Photo # 2: Little River Channel facing north from the pedestrian bridge.

The diagram below gives you a good idea of how the river bed was altered years ago to allow stormwater to flow freely. Little River banks are steep and the bottom is flat. This photo shows you how nature reclaims her land that has been altered by humans. Sediment has settled in the west bank and trees have rooted themselves.