Ojibway Prairie Complex, Nature reserve in Windsor, Canada.
The Ojibway Prairie Complex is a nature reserve in Windsor encompassing several interconnected parks with diverse natural landscapes. The area contains wetlands, woodlands, savanna, and grassland habitats that rest on sandy soil over clay layers.
The Ojibway Prairie Complex protects one of Ontario's largest remaining tallgrass prairie and oak savanna remnants, kept open by sandy soil over clay. In February 2022, Windsor West MP Brian Masse introduced a private member's bill for a national urban park. In April 2023, Ojibway Shores, the Detroit River's last natural coastline, was transferred to Parks Canada for $1.3 million. In April 2024, $36.1 million was allocated in the federal budget to create the park over five years.
The Ojibway Nature Centre, within the complex, offers free exhibits and summer programmes for children. The complex's name comes from the Ojibway people, and the surrounding tallgrass prairie and oak savannah are maintained through prescribed burns. Visitors can look for species at risk such as Butler's garter snake and the eastern prairie fringed orchid.
The complex features multiple parks connected by nature trails and sits close to downtown Windsor. The area is easily accessible from the city center and can be explored on foot.
More than 160 provincially rare species live here, the highest count of any site in Ontario. Some insects and plants are known from nowhere else in the province, among them Butler's garter snake, eastern foxsnake, eastern prairie fringed orchid and dense blazing star.
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