Who We Are

The Friends of Mad River

Friends of Mad River is a local community group which aims to enhance the health of the Mad River by:

• engaging the community in tree planting initiatives
• supporting ecological restoration projects along the river
• and promoting good stewardship of water and shared ecosystems

We serve as advocates for the river, striving to foster a sense of responsibility and connection among local residents towards its preservation.

Although there have been previous iterations of “Friends of Mad River” over the years, the group was created anew in 2020 to respond to a growing concern for the watershed health of the Mad River, particularly around the community of Creemore. Human alteration of the landscape and riverbanks have resulted in a significant lack of tree and shrub cover after the river leaves protected Niagara Escarpment lands. A season of monitoring the river in 2021 at key locations showed signs of escalating erosion occurring on several riverbanks, a lack of adequate tree cover to keep the river water cool, and even a decline in species diversity due to warming water conditions.

With the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority in the lead, The Mad River Enhancement Program (MREP) was created as a river restoration initiative coordinated by Friends of the Mad River working in partnership with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA). Through this initiative we have supported habitat restoration work towards the goal of protecting and improving our local watershed.

The Mad River is vital to the human and animal communities around it, enriching our lives in so many ways. Whether you visit the river for walks, a swim, buy local food grown near its banks, it nourishes our community completely and we want to protect it and give a little back.