State of the Bog

The area round Trout Lake was originally entirely bog habitat and extended 100m back from the lake in all directions. Because of drains installed by the City the area has dried up and very little of the bog remains, just a small region on the SE side of the lake. This is progressively deteriorating. In 1995 there were mounds of sphagnum moss (sphagnum is the base for any bog) and a wide range of bog plants, including sundews, true bog blueberry, Labrador tea, bog laurel and native bog cranberry. By 2009 the true bog blueberry had gone but there were still a few mounds of sphagnum with sundews present. By 2012 the sundews had gone and this year it appears that the remaining native bog cranberry has been extirpated.