Working With Water on the Landscape
- David Fields
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
While we work with rivers and streams, we also work with water on land. When we assess sites for our Cooling Streams riparian restoration program, one of the first questions we ask is simple but powerful: What is water doing?
By watching where water enters, moves through, and leaves a site—and noticing where it’s needed—we can design restoration projects that keep newly planted trees and shrubs alive, improve soil health, and support biodiversity – and ultimately support healthy rivers and streams. This is especially important as we face more extreme weather—longer droughts, heavier rains, and more frequent high heat days—due to climate change.
To show how we apply this approach, let’s look at a test plot where we trial restoration techniques at our project site on the Eramosa River, near Guelph, Ontario.
The plot lies within a 58-acre land trust, known as Property 2, where we are:
Managing invasive species like European Buckthorn and Giant Hogweed
Planting native trees and shrubs
Rehabilitating a Black Ash / Red Maple swamp impacted by Emerald Ash Borer
Re-introducing endangered Butternut trees resistant to Butternut canker
Surveying fish species to support our land trust partner’s conservation work
The test plot has a southeastern slope with varied microtopography. Rain and snow arrive mainly from the west and northwest, so water runs off quickly in some spots while pooling in others. Before restoration, European Buckthorn dominated; once we removed it with help from community volunteers, the exposed soil was vulnerable to erosion and drying out.
An example of the mature individuals of buckthorn at the site
Our challenge was clear: how do we work with water to give new plantings the best chance of survival, while managing invasive species?
The Problem is the Solution
Instead of just removing Buckthorn, we repurposed it perform these functions that work with water:
Dead hedge at the upper slope edge – We used cut Buckthorn to build a long permeable barrier where the slope meets an open agricultural field. This “dead hedge” slows the prevailing winds like a snow fence, causing more snow to settle on the site. Come spring, that extra snowmelt provides water for young trees. The hedge also creates habitat for wildlife and insects.
Windbreak and microclimate – The hedge reduces evaporation by slowing the drying effects of wind, keeping soil moisture higher. It also buffers strong wind gusts that may damage trees.
Standing dead shrubs – In some spots, we treated Buckthorn with herbicide but left the stems standing. These provide partial shade, reduce wind, and create vertical habitat for birds and other species. Shade-tolerant shrubs and trees can be planted underneath.
Mulch – Branches were chipped and spread around new plantings. Mulch suppresses competing vegetation and helps retain soil moisture.
Habitat piles – Larger branches were stacked into piles or scattered across the site to provide moist refuges for species like the Red-backed Salamander, which relies on damp cover for shelter, hibernation, and to hunt insects.
Our test plot. You can see the mulch, treated stumps, habitat piles as well as the dead hedge right upslope above the grass.
In short, we turned a problem into part of the solution. By converting an invasive species into mulch, hedges, windbreaks, and habitat, we created conditions for native trees and shrubs to establish and thrive. Over time, these plantings will strengthen the riparian ecosystem, helping both the river and the many species—including people—that depend on it.
Next Steps: Storing Water in the Soil
Following the dead hedge construction, crews will next dig swales—shallow trenches set along the natural contours of the slope. Swales slow down surface runoff from rain and melting snow, reducing erosion and giving water more time to soak into the soil. This creates a kind of underground “savings account” of moisture that trees and shrubs can draw on during dry periods.
See It for Yourself
You can visit our test plot and the restoration site through Google Street View. Follow the trail, and you’ll see the different riparian ecosystems we’re working to rehabilitate and enhance, plus beautiful views of the Eramosa River. Bonus points if you can spot our field crew site monitoring: