Windsor and ERCA are looking for 'marsh monitors' to keep tabs on area wetlands

The City of Windsor and the Essex Region Conservation Authority is recruiting citizen monitors to keep tabs on wildlife at local marshes.

An information workshop is being held Thursday night for potential recruits ofthe Marsh Monitoring Program, which is funded through an organization called Bird Studies Canada.

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"We're reaching out to birders, bird lovers, nature lovers, even lovers of amphibians, because we have an amphibian monitoring project as well," explained Jennifer Nantais, a naturalist at Windsor's Ojibway Nature Centre.

Nantaisexplained thatthat there is only a small percentage of wetland left in Windsor-Essex.

"Alot of them are being altered through human activity or through natural processes [such as] invasive species ... so a good way to keep an eye on these really important ecosystems is to monitor the populations of the species that live there."

No formal background in biology or environmental sciences is required. Bird Studies Canada provides materials including recordings of animal sounds that help monitors identify the species in the marsh.

"You just keep track of all of your site visits, and then at the end of the season you send your information in a package to Bird Studies Canada," Nantaissaid, noting that a typical marsh visit takes about an hour to complete.

Thursday's information session starts at 7 p.m. at the OjibwayNature Session on Matchette Road.

Tap on the audio player to hear Afternoon Drive'sJonathan Pinto speak to Nantais about the project.