By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

Doug Walker has lived on Fairview farm in North Huron all his life and the farm’s woodlot helped make major mortgage payments when needed.
However, Doug and his wife Cathy believe this woodlot and others like it serve a greater purpose toward a vision of One Health – an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment.
“I worked in healthcare all my life and I think it is amazing how the forest contributes to the health of human beings,” said Cathy, before leading a group of students from the University of Guelph through the forest as part of the One Health Tour: Healthy Watersheds, People and Wildlife, held June 6.
“I walk in the forest every morning and it reduces my cortisol levels and lowers my blood pressure. I’m curious how it does that. How can we replace that? What the forest provides and the complexity of what it does for our bodies and brains is tremendous,” said Cathy. The Walker farm was the second stop on the One Health tour which started at Scott Farm on Nature Centre Road near Belgrave and ended at the Wingham Ecological Park.
Phil Beard, General Manager of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) helped organize the tour saying “a healthy environment is the foundation for health for people and wildlife. Healthy rivers, lakes, forest, wetlands, clean air and a stable climate are needed for human health and for our economy,” said Beard. 
Jane Parmely, a veterinarian and professor at the University of Guelph believes this also and it’s why she approves of the One Health concepts taught in the Bachelor of One Health program at the university and also this summer’s ecology course. Students Alaina MacDonald of Clifford, Mysha Chowdhury and Tsai-Ping Liao came on the tour to see the practical side of One Health on farms in Huron County.
MacDonald is a veterinarian who has returned to school to pursue a PhD. because she is interested in markers of health and becoming better at disease surveillance. Specifically, to understand the balance of health before diseases emerge.
“Understanding how to maintain human health we need to consider how wildlife and ecosystems affect health,” she said. In order to learn that, Macdonald says it’s important to have honest conversations from a variety of experts. “My background is veterinary medicine so walking through a woodlot is all new. Listening to Erin (Gouthro) speak about the synthesis of ecosystems is very interesting.” Gouthro is a water ecologist with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority who took a leading teaching role on the tour.
Starting at the Scott Farm, the group heard Melanie Pletch, owner, explain that the 220-acre farm was started by her parents, Murray and Wilma Scott, who embarked on a multi-year project to transform the Scott Drain into a healthy creek for brook trout and other aquatic wildlife to thrive. Live sod, rocks and berms were used to create a meandering path to slow water down and reduce sediment loss from the surrounding farm fields. “We wanted to keep as much water on the farm as possible before it roars off to Lake Huron.”
A working farm, the project was designed to improve the land base as well. Tile drainage allows fields to dry out faster to grow better crops but when farmers crop too close to a creek or drain, and pull out trees to create more farmland, they create a heated water course that is either rushing with water or a lifeless trickle. Pletch remembers when her father had to clean out the drain every few years. “He looked for a solution and that started the ball rolling for the wetland project,” she said. Berms, tree planting, reforestation, ponds and a controlled wet/dry pond are all part of the solution at Scott Farm to conserve water and soil while creating wildlife habitat.
Beard explained to the students that Huron County was once covered in forest. Now, about 16 per cent of that forest cover remains. Dan Kraus,  the Director of National Conservation for the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada then  told the students they are graduating at “an awesome time because the urgency of the climate crisis and the health crisis are colliding.” It’s not just a Huron County issue, it’s a planetary issue and “we need new solutions because if we lose nature, we lose everything.”
One Health isn’t a new concept. In fact, many cultures have holistic views of human health in connection to wildlife and ecology. Unfortunately, many Canadians view health “in structures like silos” keeping human health separate from systems that protect wildlife when, in fact, “what is designed for wildlife protection also helps the climate and cleans water for humans,” said Kraus.
That’s why getting the students to the farms to see ecosystems in action is vital. Jane said students spend hours in classrooms learning concepts but they need to see it in real time, on real farms, where real people are making real changes. Gouthro first led the students to a weigela bush on the property to identify over 10 different kinds of bees that were feeding from the flowers. This diversity is not something Gouthro sees on every farm but diversity and partnership are key components of a healthy ecosystem, she said.
“If there was only one bee, that would be an alarm bell that the system is out of sync,” said Gouthro as the students peered into the bush, looking at the bees.
Gouthro walked the students through the farm talking about the foundational importance of insects, how plant breeders are creating sterile shrubs that don’t feed the bees, and how landowners need to offer more native and flowering shrubs in the landscape to support the declining numbers of insects.
Gouthro also explained what a drain was, why they are needed for farming, how they can destroy fish habitat when water flow isn’t managed and the “energetics” of moving water and creatures. “If you are a fish and you have to spend too much energy managing your life from raging currents to silty water, then you can’t thrive,” explained Gouthro.
 That also goes for insects who don’t have skin like humans to buffer them against excessive nutrients that can be in drain water. “When you take down trees, the water heats up. Oxygen dissolves better in cooler water so it affects how creatures breathe,” added Gouthro.
The wetland project on the Scott Farm has rejuvenated the drain/creek and the result is clean water and a diverse habitat for wildlife to thrive. Gouthro encouraged the students to really look, then close their eyes and listen to all the sounds of birds singing in the area…to immerse themselves in the experience.
From a farming perspective, Beard explained that rural stormwater management is about keeping soil on the fields and slowing water down so it has time to seep into the soil and nourish the crops instead of rushing away. Convincing farmers to create wetland projects is an uphill battle so he continues to organize field days like this One Health tour to create awareness of soil and water conservation as part of the One Health vision.
The Walkers are certainly on board and were delighted to walk everyone through their woodlot where Gouthro pointed out native plants that indicate this forest is in balance. “It’s an incredible forest because of its structure,” said Gouthro. “This is because the landowner chose to look after it, and harvest it in such a way to keep both larger and smaller trees.”
The “mother tree” is huge and some estimated it to be over 100 years old but Gouthro said it is likely a young adult just approaching the 100 year mark. Maples like this mother tree can live to be over 300 years old and serve a vital purpose in regenerating the forest with seeds. The problem with many forests is the lack of mother trees to broadcast seed to the forest floor.
As the students moved through the forest, Cathy Walker stopped to admire a maidenhair fern, an indicator species of a healthy forest. This is what she likes to show her grandchildren and she takes them to the forest as often as she can.
“These children are part of the ‘anxious generation’ and they will be the environmentalists of tomorrow. If we don’t get them engaged with forests, then we won’t  have the forest protectors of tomorrow,” she said.
On this day, at least three students were given an overview of the ecosystem pillar of One Health to see examples of healthy aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This practical experience is vital as they develop an understanding of the importance of ecosystems (nature) to human health and well-being. ◊