Oxford Stewardship Award nominees Gord and Debbra Eddy
Gord and Debbra Eddy – Transforming unusable farmland into a highly functioning wetland
Gord and Debbra Eddy have lived at Eddycrest Farms on the 11th Line in East-Zorra Tavistock for the past 48 years. It is the home where their children grew up, and they enjoy the land even more now when their grandchildren visit.
Land Stewardship has always been important to the Eddy family. Over the years, they have improved the municipal drain by adding a berm on the driveway to separate fields and prevent erosion. Gord Eddy says they have also planted over 700 trees on the property.
“We added a massive cedar line of trees above the property to keep the cold out of the building and separated our west side boundary with the cedar line. We also do a controlled logging on our woodlot every 12 or 15 years.”
The Eddy family worked with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) and Ducks Unlimited for their latest project, converting three acres of farmland into a two-acre wetland. The wetland restoration turned a wet section of the Eddy farm into a highly functioning wetland system. Gord says he enjoyed working with Phil Holst from Ducks Unlimited to get this project going.
“I always had three acres of farmland you think you can work, but you really can't. I would always get stuck, and it got to the point where we couldn’t pasture it anymore. When Phil suggested turning the three acres into a wetland, it made sense.”
The wetland has helped drainage on the outside because it is now a controlled access instead of just pushing it into the fields. Gord admits his kids were a little upset they didn’t do this sooner.
“My son gave me some heck. Why didn’t you install a pond years ago? I could have played hockey.”
Gord says the pond is now home to a wide array of wildlife, with visits from ducks, geese, blue herons, coyotes, and deer, and they’ve even had a visit from a bald eagle.
He adds they worked with the UTRCA to plant 500 trees last April and May.
“The UTRCA was great to work with. They came out a few times to help us size everything and helped with what to plant and where. We planted 200 trees around the pond and 300 trees around the fence lines to create a windbreak.”
Gord says his grandkids love the new pond. They were collecting tadpoles last summer, and he is excited to show them the trail cam footage they set up to capture wildlife.