Farmlands Vision

Historically, Cruickston Park has been a cattle and horse breeding farm with pastureland, hay meadows and cereal crop production. For the last four decades, the agricultural lands of Cruickston Park have been managed for crop production including grain corn, soybean and cereal crops, primarily wheat, using conventional tillage practices and crop rotation.

With the transfer of 370 ha (913 acres) of Cruickston Park to rare, a new era in farm management begins. Tillage systems employed will be compatible with soil types, moisture regime, erosion control and other factors. Following the recommendation of The Environmental Management Plan, and the formation of rare, sludge application has ceased and has been replaced with bagged fertilizer application determined by soil test results and soil profiling. Herbicides will continue to be used prudently and pesticides sparingly. In fact, crop rotation techniques established decades ago has permitted minimal use of pesticides for many years.

Selected croplands will be taken out of production to undergo ecological restoration. Initially, steep-sloped portions of fields adjacent to Cruickston Creek and Indian Woods will undergo restoration. Low-lying cropland adjacent to the floodplain channel of Bauman Creek will be rehabilitated to create both a more natural lower reach of the creek and wetland habitat.

Margins of croplands can be very important habitats for native flora and fauna. Trees, including regionally significant Hill’s oaks, shrubs, vines and wild flowers in turn will provide homes for mid-succession songbirds, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. Hedgerows will be increased and expanded and eventually forested wildlife corridors will create links to existing woodlands.

Croplands taken out of production will provide meadow habitats for grassland songbirds, the group of birds at most risk in North America today. In the long-term, selected croplands restored through planned research will pass through stages of succession eventually increasing forest cover and forest-interior habitat.

Farmland that remains in production will exhibit conservation management procedures that are sympathetic to the management of habitat for native flora and fauna and will reduce the impact of modern farming practices on wildlife habitat. Opportunities to recreate and study eco-friendly farm management practices will be explored. CCRR will not only be an interpretive resource to the region in natural history and early settlement history but also a resource and demonstration site for good conservation practices on farms. A blend of unique and innovative farming techniques will ensure quality of production in a landscape that supports a diverse flora and fauna of regional significance and of conservation priority.

What's Happened

During spring 2003, Ken Dance, a member of CPEAT and owner of Dance Environmental Inc. initiated a proposal to restore the croplands on the steep slopes (grade >15%) adjacent to Cruickston Creek just south of Blair Road. Using technical advice provided by Wayne MacMillan, biologist, Grand River Conservation Authority, a restoration plan was developed by Bill Wilson and presented to the CCRR Board of Directors for approval. With their approval and the co-operation of Brian Domm Farms Inc, lessee of CCRR croplands, approximately 3-4 acres were taken out of crop production.

In June 2003, with the assistance of environmental science students from Southwood Secondary School, Cambridge, the area to be restored was delineated by stakes and flagging tape. Bio-monitoring was the first task undertaken. Friends of Cruickston (now rare), Glenn Mockford and Bill Wilson, monitored the site, adjacent forest edge and creek habitat for birds. Dr. Wynn Watson walked the site collecting and identifying species of mosses and liverworts. Ken Dance monitored the creek for benthic macroinvertebrates. This monitoring provided a baseline of data for future reference as well.

During the summer, 2003, Ken Dance, volunteers and Friends of rare (formerly Cruickston) undertook an adaptive management approach to restore the west side of the creek. More than 70 seedlings of hickory, oak and sugar maple were mulched with wood chips provided by Ingold Tree Service, Cambridge. Monitoring revealed that greater than 90% of the seedlings survived into mid-August. Restoration “bees” or volunteer work parties were planned for late summer and early autumn to remove selected non-native plant species mechanically, to identify and mulch more tree and shrub seedlings and to monitor plant species composition and change within the site.