The Sifton Bog Environmentally Significant Area is a wetland jointly administered by the city of

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

and the

Upper Thames River Conservation Authority The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority is a body based in London, Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1947. It was responsible for the construction of the Fanshawe Dam, completed in the 1950s, to control flooding from the Thames River (On ...

. It is located west of Hyde Park Road and south of Oxford Street inside the city limits of London, Southern Ontario, Canada. It is a Class 2 provincially significant wetland. Prior to 1967 the wetland was called "Byron Bog", having been at that time within the boundaries of the village of

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

, but it was renamed following the donation of the land by the "Sifton Construction Company". However, it had undergone a series of name changes before this time also, being variously named Foster's Bog and Redmond's Bog in the 1880s, after the occupants of the land at that time, and Spruce Bog in the 1890s. The name Byron Bog was used by the 1920s, but no record exists of its Native American name. The Sifton Bog is one of the most southerly acidic bogs in Canada. It contains a number of rare species including four types of carnivorous plants. Among the latter are the

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

s ''

Drosera intermedia ''Drosera intermedia'', commonly known as the oblong-leaved sundew, spoonleaf sundew, or spatulate leaved sundew, is an insectivorous plant species belonging to the sundew genus. It is a temperate or tropical species native to Europe, southeaste ...

'' and ''

Drosera rotundifolia ''Drosera rotundifolia'', the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribu ...

'' and the purple pitcher plant ''

Sarracenia purpurea ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Description Like other species of ''Sarracenia'', ''S. purpurea'' obtains most ...

''. The central bog vegetation is dominated by ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'' and ''

Chamaedaphne calyculata ''Chamaedaphne calyculata'', known commonly as leatherleaf or cassandra, is a perennial dwarf shrub in the plant family Ericaceae and the only species in the genus ''Chamaedaphne''. It is commonly seen in cold, acidic bogs and forms large, spread ...

'' (leatherleaf), with a few short

larches Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furth ...

('' Larix laricina'') and black spruce (''

Picea mariana ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labr ...

'').

The depression that houses the bog was created like many local geologic features, by the effects of glaciation. A depression in the Ingersoll Glacial Moraine was left by retreating glaciers. The result was a pocket with no drainage which developed into the Sifton Bog. The 0.2 hectare pond at the centre of the bog, Redmond's Pond, is the remnant of what would have originally been a larger 23 hectare water body, which has gradually filled with peat over the last 10000 years. The peat layer at the centre of the bog has been measured at 18 m (60 ft). Redmond's Pond is named after the Redmond family, who owned part of the land on which the bog is situated, between 1854 and 1900. The pond is less than 1.5 m (5 ft) deep, and has a pH of around 5. On the margins are surface growths of the carnivorous bladderwort ''

Utricularia vulgaris ''Utricularia vulgaris'' (greater bladderwort or common bladderwort) is an aquatic species of bladderwort found in Asia and Europe. The plant is free-floating and does not put down roots. Stems can attain lengths of over one metre in a single g ...

'' and water lily ''

Nuphar advena ''Nuphar advena'' (spatterdock or cow lily or yellow pond-lily) is a species of ''Nuphar ''Nuphar'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae, with a temperate to subarctic Northern Hemisphere distribution. Common names include w ...

'', with sparse growths of duckweed (''

Lemna minor ''Lemna minor'', the common duckweed or lesser duckweed, is a species of aquatic freshwater plant in the subfamily Lemnoideae of the arum family Araceae. ''L. minor'' is used as animal fodder, bioremediator, for wastewater nutrient recovery, and ...

'') and water flax-seed (''

Spirodela polyrhiza ''Spirodela polyrhiza'' ( ''S. polyrrhiza'') is a species of duckweed known by the common names common duckmeat, greater duckweed, great duckmeat, common duckweed, and duckmeat. It can be found nearly worldwide in many types of freshwater habitat ...

''). The bog was previously used as a commercial source of sphagnum moss, an alternative to cotton gauze. It was mined during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to support the war effort and the needs of local hospitals. The

Alder Buckthorn ''Frangula alnus'', commonly known as alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Unlike other "buckthorns", alder buckthorn does not have thorns. It is native to Europe, northern ...

, a plant native to the bog, was harvested and used during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

to produce

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

References

{{London, Ontario Bogs of Canada Wetlands of Ontario Natural areas in Ontario Landforms of London, Ontario Protected areas of Middlesex County, Ontario Tourist attractions in London, Ontario