Maple Plains 

The Maple Plains Agri-Environmental Demonstration Project is on a 174-acre farming property at the intersection of Maple Plains Road (Route 114) and the Connolly Woods Road (Route 115) on the southeastern edge of the Bedeque Bay Watershed.

This unique site, officially opened in August 2000 is a type of outdoor learning center, developed in cooperation with the Webster family of Middleton, PEI.  Here BBEMA hosts interactive science and ecology based tours for small to large groups of all ages.  Whether is be curriculum based for school groups, tours for organizations or conference groups - BBEMA would be pleased to develop a custom agri-tour for your business.

The site is open to the public by guided tour only.  To book a tour or for more information please contact the BBEMA office.

(left) Summerside Intermediate School - science tour - grade 7 students identify local trees and learn about the importance of specific species to local wildlife.

(below) Elm Street Elementary School- ecology tour - grade 6 students are introduced to pond habitats and learn about the life cycle of frogs

 Farming & Nature Working in Harmony

Among the rolling hills and trees in the farming community of Maple Plains, Prince Edward Island is a working landscape that co-exists with nature. Located southeast of Kinkora on Highway #225, this 174 acre farm incorporates sustainable agriculture practices, habitat enhanced for wildlife, innovative crops and demonstration and monitoring projects aimed to protect water & soil resources.

The goal of this demonstration site is to facilitate communication, understanding and cooperation between the farming and other sectors. It promotes the importance of the value of our rural communities and our environment.

Expanded riparian buffer zone – these permanently vegetated strips that run parallel to streams and rivers are ecologically rich and fragile. They can be some of the most productive habitats supporting a large number of species. We have enhanced a section of the Southwest Brook that follows along two sides of this farm. In addition to the alder that grows easily here look for planted species such as: common elderberry, American mountain ash, and red oak. Riparian zones serve as important linkages between in-stream aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, stabilizing stream banks, moderating stream temperatures through shading, providing biodiversity to support wildlife and helping protect water quality.

Wetlands – three ponds have been created at Maple Plains to increase wildlife habitat, including that for waterfowl. A grassed waterway carries run-off from nearby fields to the pond closest to the site entry. This pond and its aquatic vegetation are instrumental in filtering sediment and nutrients before water makes its way to a drainage ditch and eventually the stream.

Bog Habitat – in a forested area of the site, acidic, damp, nutrient poor conditions allow for sphagnum moss to thrive, creating another type of wetland – a bog. Tea-coloured waters of two bog ponds are surrounded by shorter vegetation adapted to these conditions such as: cotton grass, leather leaf, Labrador tea as well as tamarack and black spruce.

Tree Nursery – a small tree nursery at Maple Plains temporarily holds young trees and shrubs that will be planted later, either at the site or elsewhere in the watershed.

BBEMA conducts tree planting throughout the watershed, increasing biodiversity & wildlife habitat and reducing wind and soil erosion. These plantings also decrease greenhouse gas emissions, stabilize stream banks and take up excess nutrients.

Herb Teaching Garden – herbs have been important plants for people throughout history – including serving as our first medicines. Learn about herbal folklore and facts – how they were used in the past and present.

 Strip cropping is the practice of planting row crops in strips across the slope, with alternate strips of grain and/or forage crops. Potatoes grown in a strip cropping system in a three year rotation with grain and hay can reduce erosion rates by 75% compared to farming up and down the slope with the same rotation.

Mulching straw or hay on potato fields after harvest can reduce soil loss by more than 40 times compared to bare, unprotected fields. The late variety of potatoes often grown on PEI, does not always allow for the establishment of a winter cover crop. Mulching is a good alternative practice that reduces the impact of rain drops hitting the soil surface and decreasing the potential runoff velocity. Field tests have shown that erosion rates can be reduced by as much as 40 times on mulched fields, versus bare, unprotected fields.

Grassed waterways – these are broad, shallow channels that are protected from erosion by a permanent grass cover. They are used for erosion control in field gullies, provide outlets for diversion terraces, improve field accessiblity in wet conditions for spraying and harvesting times, and reduce the rate of soft rot of potatoes that occur because of water build-up in the lower lying areas or depression areas of the field. Grassed waterways also filter sediment and nutrients as the runoff channels through before it is intercepted by a watercourse.

A diversion terrace or berm is a permanently vegetated structure designed to break up long slopes into a series of shorter slopes; a terrace intercepts surface runoff from the area above it. Diversion terraces have been installed at Maple Plains to help reduce soil erosion and improve drainage in the lower ends of fields by intercepting runoff.

Planting on a Berm
Generally berms are seeded in grass and sometimes mowed. At Maple Plains a long term experiment is being conducted to determine if native trees and shrubs will grow on a berm. Enhancement of these engineering structures for biodiversity may also provide farmers with economic returns. To date, white birch and elm are the trees that have shown best survival and red osier dogwood is the most successful shrub species. The opposite side of this experimental berm has been enhanced with perennial plantings for beneficial insects.

Alley-cropping
This agro-forestry technique involves planting trees or shrubs in widely spaced rows allowing for planting of a secondary crop in between. We have planted a small scale demonstration at Maple Plains using Willows (Salix sp.). These hardy fast growing species can be coppiced every three years and baled or chipped for use as a renewable energy source. This technique can help farmers diversify their operations and it also has benefits for the environment. Monitoring of these two agro-forestry demonstrations is on-going in cooperation with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.

Windbreak & Strip-cropping with Trees
In cooperation with Eastern Canada Soil and Water Conservation Centre and PEI Soil and Crop Improvement Association, trees and shrubs were planted in two long strips following the contour of the berm. Species include larch, red maple, red osier dogwood, and winterberry. By planting these trees in strips, a hedgerow is created between the two fields. This enhances the functions of the berm by preventing soil erosion, slowing down water running o the fields and allowing reabsorption into the soil. These trees will also provide future value to the farmer and enhances biodiversity.

Maple Plains Weather Station
The meteorological station at the Maple Plains Agri-environmental Demonstration Site is one of several such stations on PEI. Solar panels on the tower collect sunlight that is converted to energy to power a cell phone that helps relay weather data remotely from the station’s various meteorological equipment to Environment Canada. Some of the weather parameters collected at Maple Plains include: wind speed and direction and temperature.

This information is used to help develop regional weather forecasts in Atlantic Canada. You can find the current and forecasted meteorological conditions for Maple Plains by checking www.weatheroffice.gc.ca.