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Can you build a rain garden to divert your

stormwater from going straight into the lake? Need ideas for what plants are best for a shoreline buffer to protect your lake? 

Get some ideas here. 

Check out the rain garden on the shores of Minnow Lake. 

Bell Covenant land needs to be re-greened for our health and the health of the lake - Opinion.

And the rain garden is complete! Wow, what an effort! So many people to thank! Funding generously provided by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and the City of Greater Sudbury. Donations provided by Southview Greenhouse and Futurescape Landscaping. Technical support from Jennifer Harvey (Landscape Architect), Master Gardener Linda Hachez, Laurentian University's Department of Energy & Sustainability Manager Kati McCartney and Grounds Manager Jean-Paul Cholette. Also, many thanks to Dr. Peter Beckett for bringing his students to help with planting and mulching the garden. And finally to all the other volunteers who came out, we couldn't have done it without your help!

Non-Motorized Boating Days?

How would you like having a few days per summer which were for only non-motorized boating on Ramsey Lake? Let us know!

   Other Areas of Concern:

Boat launching area off South Bay Road

    ATVs in Frenchman's Bay 

    The parking lot on the shoreline of        Ramsey Lake at University Road             and Ramsey Lake Road

    Do you live in the Ramsey Lake          Watershed? Have a closer look.

See more about our rain garden here. 

Native species plants used here.

Rain gardens help soak up runoff from downspouts, driveways, and parking lots to reduce flooding and filter out pollutants before they reach our waterways like Ramsey Lake or its original Ojibwe name 'Bimitimagamising' or 'water that lies on the side of the hill'. 

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Keast Development

The rezoning for the proposed Keast development went to Planning Committee June 22, 2015. Read what the Planning Staff report says about the development. See what RLSC concerns are about the development. See our slide show. The vote was deferred until July 6 to allow the committee more time to look at this complicated proposal. They voted on July 6 to approve the development with the added condition to move the stormwater facility and sewage lift station out of the floodplain. We think this was a prudent change. 

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In Melbourne, Australia, they assigned trees email addresses and got thousands of emails.

If you could email Ramsey Lake, what would you say to her? Give it a try! ramseylake@live.com

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The Greater Sudbury Source Protection Plan has come into effect April 1, 2015. The Plan is the Clean Water Act developed locally for Sudbury.

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Good news for the Ramsey Lake watershed! Sudbury Council has approved $250,000 for a watershed study of Ramsey Lake. Having this information will help ensure we develop responsibly around the watershed. 

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Looking forward to the regreening the old St. Joe's parking lot on the shores of Ramsey Lake. This polluting parking lot will be returned to Bell Park green space as part of Bell Family Covenant land. See Yallowega Bélanger Architecture designs to bring the old St. Joe's parking lot back into Bell Park. 

On April 1st, 2012, the new lawn fertilizer bylaw comes into effect.

Look for lawn fertilizer with a zero in the middle (10-0-10) and let's reduce the amount of phosphorus that washes into our lakes.

Get your lake-friendly lawn sign for a $5 donation at mailto:ramseylake@live.com Please indicate which sign, fish or beach.

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Should we care if a road in the Ramsey Lake watershed is expanded from 2 to 5 lanes? Yes!

Here's our letter to the editor.

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Great new resource on septic systems: Protect Your Lake, Protect Your Investment

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We are disappointed that a 1000 spot parking lot is being proposed at Health Sciences North and in the watershed with no regard for how improving transit might have negated the need for all this extra parking. See our Planning Committee submission here.

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Latest blue-green algae blooms have been spotted July 8, 2015 at most beaches on Ramsey Lake. 

Blue-green algae bloom (July 17-20, 2014) at Moonlight Beach, the Canoe Club, and at the Main, Amphitheatre and New beaches. Residents are advised by the Health Unit not to swim in the lake.

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Here is a lake capacity approach being proposed for Sudbury by Hutchinson Environmental Services Ltd. Less protection for our lakes is not a step forward. 

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Our new sign is up at the Ramsey Lake Public Boat Launch!

30m is about the length of 2 and 1/2 school buses.

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Council votes unanimously (2013) in favour of a motion to fund watershed studies. Watershed studies will help ensure the proper balance between the health of our lakes and development. See our brochure for more info here.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, in their stormwater management design guidelines, includes watershed studies as an essential part of stormwater management. These guidelines state, “Urban development without watershed/subwatershed planning is discouraged”.

Developments in the Ramsey Lake Watershed

Concerns

1. Off Keast Drive.

Read what the Planning Staff report says about the development. See what the RLSC thinks about the development.

2. The Laurentian Parkway proposed through LU ski and walking trails (in dotted purple).

3. Developments approved around the RL watershed with no regard for the cumulative effects of pollution on the lake.

Join our facebook discussion.