The Carden Plain

Carden Field Naturalists Club

Carden Guide

Carden Nature Festival

Carden Travel Guide

Carden Directory

Community Organizations

The Carden Plain is a very unique and largely unknown area of the South Central Ontario Landscape. The Plain is comprised primarily of grassland, shrubland and alvar and is one of the very best birding areas in Ontario. In 1999 the Carden Plain was designated as a Nationally Significant Important Bird Area (IBA)

Map

Rare Alvar Habitat: Alvar's are areas of limestone pavement or with thin soil over flat limestone bedrock. Alvars are globally rare habitats, occurring only on the islands of the Baltic Sea of Sweden, in Estonia and in the Great Lakes basin of North America. Ecologically, they are harsh and inhospitable environments which support an extraordinary diversity of hardy but rare plants, animals and invertebrates. (Reschke et.al.,1999)

Alvar

The Carden Alvar's: are located in the northern half of the Carden Plain and host a marvelous variety of wildflowers and other plants including many rare and dislocated species such as Prairie Smoke. The plants and shrubs must be able to withstand a very harsh environment. Spring flooding occurs when winter snowfall melts; the water then lies on the limestone bedrock until July, when evaporation creates virtual drought like conditions.