Bog. Swamp. Fen. Marsh. Muck, mud and mire…
It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? When movie directors want to make things hard for their characters, they sometimes pick a wetland to chuck them into – think Humphrey Bogart in the classic movie “African Queen,” where he struggles day after day to pull his boat through an impenetrable swamp.
Wetlands get a bad rap, but they are hugely important to all of us.
Without them, things would be a lot more difficult on old Planet Earth.
Like big sponges, they store water from snows and rains, and then let it out when things get dry. They provide rich habitats for plants and animals to live in, and they create “biodiversity”: the variety of life.
Ontario is a big place with a huge variety of wetlands in all of that landscape. So, on World Wetlands Day, we want to celebrate with you, and share the wealth of swamps, fens, bogs and marshes we have in our parks!
