Who We Are

The Dorset Environmental Science Centre is an environmental science facility consisting of government, university and non-governmental partners. Through monitoring and research, we collaborate on a broad spectrum of topics related to Ontario's inland aquatic ecosystems and the watersheds in which they reside.

Mission Statement

To investigate the effects of multiple stressors, including climate change, on water quality and quantity in Ontario’s inland aquatic ecosystems and sustain the functions and services that these systems provide. 

Long-term Ecosystem Science

Focusing on headwater lakes and streams near Dorset, Ontario, this program gathers chemical, physical and biological data to investigate long-term patterns and processes in aquatic ecosystems. A multiple stressor, watershed-scale approach...

Lake Partner Program

The Lake Partner Program is Ontario’s volunteer-based, water-quality monitoring program that provides nutrient (total phosphorus) and water clarity information for Ontario’s inland lakes. More than 600 lakes are monitored annually by volunteers.

Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network

The OBBN is a provincial network that uses a variety of partners and volunteers to collect bottom-dwelling aquatic invertebrates as indicators of ecosystem health in lakes, streams and wetlands. The network features standard sampling protocols, training, and...

Water Chemistry Laboratory

The DESC chemistry laboratory is a state-of-the-art analytical facility dedicated to characterizing a wide array of variables in lakes and streams of Ontario.