Lake trout’s return reflects success of Sudbury’s regreening efforts – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – January 23, 2020)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

‘Sudbury is an example to the world of what can be done’

All herald the mighty lake trout. This cold-water, oxygen-loving fish is a sign that Sudbury’s regreening efforts have really taken root.

“We’re trying to educate people about local species and local biodiversity in ecosystems,” Tina McCaffrey, supervisor of the city’s regreening program, says. “For myself and my parents, growing up 40 years ago, we know the landscape was black and lifeless. But children today – they miss out on that. They don’t always know what we’re talking about when we say Sudbury used to be like a moonscape.”

Sudbury’s regreening efforts are impressive. There is a hill in the Little Britain area where you can climb and look out over the slag pours of Vale in one direction, and the expanse of leafy neighbourhoods and verdant woods in the other. Sudbury no longer resembles the moonscapes of past decades. Certainly, our rocks are still black, but now they are covered in mosses, lichens, trees and shrubs that speak to the pioneering efforts of the VETAC committee.

The trout is the first species to be featured in the municipality’s revived Species of the Month program. Every month, a different local plant or animal will be featured on a bookmark. They are available at any library location throughout the year.

This initiative raises awareness of the importance of Greater Sudbury’s ecological recovery efforts in improving habitat for wildlife in our city. The Species of the Month campaign is part of the city’s biodiversity action plan.

For the rest of this article: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/lake-trouts-return-reflects-success-of-sudburys-regreening-efforts