BOOK IDEA HELPS GROW KNOWLEDGE OF KAWARTHA PLANTS

It's took 15 years for Dale Leadbeater and Anne Barbour to gather data and publish their book; and it's technically not done.

"We're actually still collecting specimens," said Barbour who suspects this will be the case for years to come given the catalyst that inspired The Flora of Kawartha Lakes: An Illustrated Checklist of the Flora of the City of Kawartha Lakes. "We're very much aware that this is just a benchmark ... there is still so much more to discover."

It all started in 2007 with Michael Oldham, a botanist working at the Natural Heritage Information Centre in Peterborough during a presentation to the Kawartha Field Naturalists.

"He suggested it would make for a good project for us and a crucial resource for the NHIC as well as the province," said Barbour. "There was already data for Peterborough, Haliburton and Durham, but Victoria County [Kawartha Lakes] was a big black hole."

Having access to information regarding what plants grow naturally — as well as those that have been introduced — in habitats such as forests, wetlands and meadows is not only important to scientists but also planners.

"It's important that these decisions are informed and not just based on economics," noted Leadbeater.

After all, it wouldn't make sense to build a golf course on limestone bedrock, but someone had made the suggestion.

The Fenelon Fallsbased group enlisted roughly 100 volunteers, including members of other nature clubs and Fleming College students and connected

with private landowners as well as organizations like Kawartha Conservation, Kawartha Land Trust and Ontario Parks.

"There were so many people involved. It just created a sense of community and the many people who kept cheering us on was so inspiring," said Leadbeater.

Over the course of several years, Barbour and her team of "flora workers" recorded the plants that were collected that spring and fall. Afterwards, they were pressed, dried and mounted. More than 2,000 were sent to the Green Plant Herbarium at the Royal Ontario Museum.

The women also spent close to a year vetting all the plants' Latin names, created a matrix of all the different townships and curated a database to preserve the information for future reference. They also honoured the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by amending the names of some of the plants, such as Scarlet Paintbrush and Copper grass.

"It really felt like we were contributing to the flora knowledge, not only of the Kawarthas, but North America," said Barbour.

It also doesn't just apply to flora either.

"There are many things that we discovered that tie into the cultural history of the Kawartha Lakes," continued Leadbeater.

For example, at Sturgeon Point there are botanical remnants of the prairie and First Nations plant community that grew centuries ago. The "oak district" in Fenelon Falls is another.

The book also includes dozens of intricate illustrations by Janetville-based artist John Vandenberg. The black and white, botanically correct portraits — drawn while viewing the plants under a dissecting microscope — have been donated to the ROM'S herbarium curatorial collection.

The two women hoped the book would be of interest to botanists and naturalists but had no idea so many others would be captivated by the information.

The first printing, 500 copies, sold out in three weeks. Another 100 copies were ordered and donated to local schools and libraries. Recently, 200 more copies were printed.

"And they're disappearing as well, which is quite surprising," said Leadbeater. "It's been a huge sense of satisfaction bringing it all to a conclusion."

For more on the book visit https://mattholderfund.com/product/the-flora-of-kawartha-lakes/.