Do you send your kids to Winding Trails camp? Are your summers spent on the Winding Trails waterfront? Here is everything you should know about how to keep the heart of Winding Trials- Dunning Lake- clean and healthy!
Excess Fertilizer:
Excess fertilizer is one of the most harmful things that the lake is experiencing. This can look like spreading it on your lawn or garden, in attempts to make it as green and beautiful as you can. Excess fertilizer can runoff into local streams and rivers, in Devonwood’s case Dunning Lake, causing toxic algal blooms that can be harmful to both animals within the lake and those swimming in it. While the algae is harmless in moderation, excessive fertilizer can cause rapid and excessive growth of algae, leading to algal blooms. These blooms can deplete oxygen levels in the water when the algae decompose, creating dead zones where aquatic life cannot survive. And, excess fertilizer doesn’t make your grass any greener, because your lawn will only be absorbing so much, before it turns into runoff when it rains. Look into testing your soil to know how much fertilizer it actually needs. This way your household is not contributing to fertilizer runoff. You can even test your soil at Uconn! https://soiltesting.cahnr.uconn.edu/sampling/
Littering Around Winding Trails:
Garbage, plastic water bottles, snack wrappers, you name it! Because Winding Trails has a plethora of food options, these items are being littered and left to the beaches and woods, making their way into Dunning Lake. It’s important to clean up after yourself, and to educate your kids about the importance of throwing your garbage away. Items like garbage and wrappers are harmful to both the environment and the wildlife found at Winding Trails. In order to keep the animals safe and the beaches clean make sure you utilize the garbage cans and recycling provided and pick up any garbage you might find. In addition to this you can research what is and is not recyclable through the town. https://www.farmington-ct.org/departments/highway-grounds/trash-and-recycling
Fishing at Winding Trails:
Fishing, while a fun activity, can have negative effects on the Winding Trials environment if not cleaned properly. Once a fish is caught, if you don’t plan on eating it, be sure to release it quickly! Fishlines can be very harmful to the environment if they are not disposed of into the trash. If you catch a fish, you have to make sure it is off the line full before releasing it. If you find or leave excess line, it needs to be picked up! Animals can get caught in fishlines if they accidentally eat them. Additionally, if you catch a frog or turtle, once you show them to friends or family, release them back where you found them.
Get Involved:
If you are interested in helping the local environment consider signing up for volunteer river cleanups through the Farmington River Stewards (https://www.farmingtonriversteward.org/get-involved/events)or consider donating to organizations like the Farmington River Watershed Association. (https://www.frwa.org/) Leave the lake better than you found it! If you leave trash or see trash, throw it out. It’s the little things that can help keep our lake clean!
Authored by:
Abby, Aubrey, Skylar, Piper
Farmington High School