Wetlands are areas that are permeated or submerged by water and they can be either permanent or temporary. Wetlands include fresh and salt water marshes, bogs, flooded forests, wooded swamps, and any land area that can keep water long enough to allow wetland plants and soils develop. Wetlands are extremely useful areas because they filter toxic substances and sediments, provide an essential habitat for many different species, provide food products, and they help absorb the impacts of natural disasters such as floods. In Ontario, many wetlands have been considered useless and therefore filled in or drained so they can be built upon or farmed on. In southern Ontario alone, 68% of wetlands have been converted to alternative uses, such as housing and agriculture (Environment Canada, 2010). Wetlands are threatened by air pollution and climate change, and they are disappearing due to human activity. Wetlands are essential components of the earths ecosystem, and the consequences of human interference needs to be addressed. The world has a finite amount of resources, and wetlands are accountable for a significant amount of these resources including water, carbon, fuel, and soil. The wetlands of Ontario need YOUR help! You can help raise awareness and educate others on how vital wetlands are on earth. If you care about living with sustainability in mind, and the innocent lives of plants and animals, please sign this petition. 

For more information on how you can contribute, help raise awareness and educate yourself, please visit:

http://www.wetlands.org/

Wetlands international's mission is to sustain and restore wetlands, their resources, and biodiversity (Wetlands International, 2014).