Yikes! Your membership expires Mar 31. Don’t delay - RENEW NOW!
Strolls. Our 2022 Create the Future conference. New Species at Risk Guides. All-ages events. Each and every membership helps fund our South Shore advocacy, educational and awareness-building work. If you haven’t renewed your South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) membership, now’s THE time!
And with the Ministry of the Environmental, Conservation and Parks reviewing comments for a new Conservation Reserve along the South Shore of Prince Edward County, we anticipate 2023 will be a milestone year for our volunteer-led non-profit.
Help us keep the lights on. Join or renew your membership now here.
Thank you for supporting the Hudgin Log House in the Next Great Save Competition!
Together you voted 6,614 times over the course of the competition! Even though, we did not win, the contest helped launch the Hudgin Log House onto a national stage where people from coast to coast could learn about our restoration project and the history of the house and the Hudgin family. The contest helped bring more awareness to the work that is being done to make the House a hub for cultural and natural heritage studies, biodiversity, and public events, and that counts as a win!
Thank you to National Trust for Canada for organizing this competition and to Ecclesiastical Insurance for sponsoring.
Thank you again to all who voted and supported us in this initiative. Keep checking our website for more updates on the restoration project!
Click to watch our competition video and learn about the project!
First South Shore Strollers of 2023 by Dawn Ayer
Bohemian Waxwings and rare ice volcano delight first strollers of 2023!
Cheryl Anderson
Saturday, March 11 was a stunning day for 13 strollers on the South Shore. The sun was shining. We were mostly protected from the brisk north wind by the surrounding trees. We started our walk at the Prince Edward Point Harbour area and followed the beaten pathway in the snow to Point Traverse Lighthouse. A large flock of Bohemian Waxwings making their way through the woods entertained us.
Until the early 21st century Prince Edward Point and Harbour hosted a thriving commercial fishery. Remnants of the fishing huts and net drying equipment remain. One or two commercial fishing operations continue to use the harbour. The exterior of the heritage designated Lighthouse is protected against the elements but it awaits interior restoration. If you’re interested in learning more about this landmark and taking action on preserving it for future use, please get in touch with us! The adjacent shed is important as a nesting place for threatened Barn Swallows – one of 39 species at risk featured in in our new Guides.
Mark Paddison, caretaker of the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, led us along the beach from the Lighthouse and back around from the shore through a snow-covered meadow to meet our original path. Along the shore we were able to see a couple of so-called ice volcanoes their crystalline “lava” glistening in the sun.
Dale Smith tallied birds as we walked. Here is his list: 3 Long-tailed Duck, 1 Common Merganser, 2 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Bald Eagle – Juvenile, 1 Blue Jay, 3 American Crow, 3 Black-capped Chickadee, 50 Bohemian Waxwing -- Conservative estimate.
Thank you to everyone who joined me for this inaugural 2023 Stroll. The next South Shore Stroll is April 1st – no joke! 
– at Charwell Point and Gull Pond. Register for Strolls here.
The next Two South Shore Strolls of 2023 are now live on our Events Page! Register to secure your spot today.
Stroll to Gull Pond Wildflower Stroll
Saturday, April 1 Saturday, May 6
Join us on the May long weekend for a dark sky event with astronomy enthusiast Steve Burr and members of the Kingston and Belleville Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. This week is the time of the new moon, which will provide an excellent opportunity to view stars and planets.
Join us for the South Shore Joint Initiative AGM on June 7 with a special presentation by photographer and videographer John Brebner.
Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly
This 56-minute narrated film unfolds along the shores of Cape Ann in Massachusetts and in the heart of Mexico’s forested volcanic mountains. Every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is experienced in vibrant close-up, from mating to egg to caterpillar to adult, and set against the backdrop of sea and forest, sun and wind. Join us on Friday June 23 at 2:00 PM for this webinar, with an introduction with the director Kim Smith.
Shhh We have something brewing!
Save the Date! Join us Saturday October 14 at 6:00 PM for an evening of good food, fun and music. Details to come.
Know where Red-headed Woodpeckers like to hide food? Ever seen a 50-year-old Midland Painted Turtle? Wonder why Piping Plovers vibrate sand with their feet?
If you love the South Shore and are curious about the Species that live, rest, forage and breed there – there’s a new Guide specifically designed for you! Featuring 20+ local photographers, fun facts and identification information about the 39 currently known South Shore Species at Risk, this Guide is now available at Books & Company on Main Street, Picton. It features photos, descriptions and at risk classification info about species that have been documented using the South Shore Key Biodiversity Area.
A perfect gift, this eco-friendly Guide (printed on 100% recycled paper thanks to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation) is sure to appeal to anyone who loves our South Shore, Canadian birds, reptiles, amphibians, plants, insects, fish and mammals. 100% of proceeds support South Shore Joint Initiative’s work. The Guide is $10 each or 2/$15
Want a guide of your own? Pick them up at Books & Company, County Farm Centre, Green Gables, and at ssji.ca/speciesatriskguide.
South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) members and partner organizations are working to protect Prince Edward County’s South Shore Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) in order to maintain or increase the biodiversity of its terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Our members support the objectives of SSJI. Our partners include organizations that support particular objectives and initiatives of South Shore Joint Initiative as part of the larger coalition to protect the South Shore IBA.
Since 2018, through public education, supporting responsible usage and enabling scientific research, we’re proud to raise awareness about how the wellbeing of Prince Edward County’s South Shore and the people who enjoy it are inextricably linked. Together, we are working to protect and preserve public lands in Canada’s last undeveloped Lake Ontario shoreline.
Your one-time and monthly donations help us to advance our work. Every donation of $20 or more includes SSJI membership. We are proud to be a registered charity based in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. Tax receipts will be emailed to you within 5 business days.
Thank you for your support!
