To early settlers the area of the Osprey Marsh was known as the “Catholic Swamp”. The land at what is now the junction of Britannia and Ninth line was home to Irish immigrants who cleared and farmed the area and provided much of the manpower for the construction of the Welland Canal.
What is now the Osprey Marsh was an area of the original pioneer community which was unsuitable for agriculture due to its relatively low-lying marsh and bog characteristics. Today, it is part of the Mississauga water management system. This organization of natural creeks, ponds and marshes is joined with man-made waterways and catchments to facilitate a comprehensive network of water management that provides much needed recreational and green space to an ever growing urban / suburban environment. It has been designed to manage and relieve water levels in the advent of severe weather.
The Osprey marsh is home to a wide diversity of plant and animal life. A variety of birds including ducks, Canada geese and blue herons are sustained by abundant sources of food. There are a number of interpretive plaques along the trail that explain the origins, uses and animal inhabitants of the marsh area. You will visiting several of these on your journey.
Many individuals get confused between a marsh and a swamp. A marsh is a wetland with many 'emergent' plants - their tops emerge, or stick up, out of soggy ground and shallow water, while acquatic plants are completely submerged. The non-woody plants would be cattails, grasses, bulrushes, or sedges. A swamp is a place where the plants that make up the area covered in water are primarily woody plants or trees.
In order to log this earthcache, please email me the answers to the following questions:
Stage 1 (Posted) - Osprey Marsh Wetland
1. What protects the shore from erosion?
2. The plaque here shows pictures of four emergent plants. Which one of these plants did you find most prevalent on your walk from this waypoint to Stage 2 - Osprey Marsh Pond Life.
Stage 2 - Osprey Marsh Pond Life
3. When did adaptable fish and wildlife species find their way into the Osprey Marsh?
4. What are three indicators of a healthy pond?
Stage 3 - Osprey Marsh Storm Water Management
5. What two places does Osprey Marsh receive water from?
6. How were storm water ponds designed to prevent erosion from occuring, and how has this process impacted the amount of contamination in the water?
7. Why must the pond be dredged?
Overall Observation & Measurement
8. What types of wildlife did you see today on your visit?
9. Estimate the surface area in acres of the Osprey Marsh. 1 acre is approx 4046 square meters.
Congratulations to Flintstone5611 on the FTF!