This Month in Lambton - August 2025

The August 2025 edition of This Month in Lambton includes the following news, service updates, programs and events:

• Check out Stories in Focus at the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery
• Stay up to date on construction and road closures
• Legacy oil and gas wells
• Author Talk with Irene Matys
• Now Showing – Aberdeen (2024) with Director Eva Thomas
• Discover agricultural history at Lambton Heritage Museum’s PA Day event on September 19
• Oil Museum of Canada hosts Author Talk with Marie Carter for Culture Days
• Lambton County Archives announces September workshop schedule
• Upcoming JNAAG events

Check out Stories in Focus at the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery

Teens across Lambton County have been making creatively inspired photographs in response to this year’s Teen Photo Contest theme “Stories In Focus.”

This year’s theme invited young photographers to capture compelling narratives through their cameras. Featuring a juried selection of submissions, each photograph tells a unique story, from imaginative characters to evocative moments that blur fantasy and reality.

In this exhibit a juried selection of submissions will appear alongside Adad Hannah's Blackwater Ophelia from JNAAG’s permanent collection, serving as inspiration for the next generation of visual storytellers.

This exhibition is open until Saturday, October 4, 2025.

Stay up to date on construction and road closures

Temporary closures and detours on County Roads are required due to seasonal construction and other events, like severe weather or emergency road work.

Did you know the County posts information on planned and upcoming road closures at lambtononline.ca/roadclosures and updates on construction projects at lambtononline.ca/construction? You’ll also find a real-time map from Municipal511 that includes upcoming and current planned closures, as well as emergency road closure information from the County and local municipalities.

Check your route before you go!

Legacy Oil and Gas Wells

Lambton County is home to several thousand legacy oil and gas wells - some active, some inactive. Some decommissioned, others not.

With support from the Ministry of Natural Resources' (MNR) Legacy Oil & Gas Wells program, the Oil Museum of Canada has developed a virtual exhibit to help the public understand and assess the history and risks associated with legacy wells in their communities.

Potential Risks and Hazards

The MNR notes the following risks and hazards associated with legacy oil and gas wells:

• Leaking wells: if fluids are escaping from the well, there may be surface indications such as soil staining and vegetation die-off.
• Hydrogen sulfide: a poisonous gas (rotten egg smell) that may be released from leaking wells.
• High pressure/flammability: natural gas and oil may be released at high pressures around wells. These fluids and gases are flammable and combustible.
• Subsidence: sinking of the ground over and existing or past underground cavity created from solution-mining of soluble minerals like salt.
• Blowouts: occur when unexpected natural gas is found, and gas/oil/fluid is released at the drilling rig, resulting in fires or spills.
• Contamination: of soil or groundwater

Public Safety

Take the following steps so you and your family are prepared in the event of an oil or gas emergency:

• Assemble an emergency supplies kit to respond to unexpected emergencies.
• If emergency officials instruct you to evacuate, do so immediately. Take your emergency supplies kit with you.
• Keep instructions for shutting off gas and water valves handy and read them carefully.
• Make a Family Emergency Plan consisting of alternative shelter, evacuation routes, and family household communications.
• Avoid building over top of a petroleum well.
• Be aware of the potential hazards of wells and seek out technical help for petroleum wells.
• Should you determine your property has a petroleum well, ensure it is plugged according to regulation standards.

For further assistance, contact the MNR Petroleum Operations Section directly at  gasandoilwells@ontario.ca or call 519-873-4634.

Author Talk with Irene Matys

Recipe developer, food stylist, and storyteller Irene Matys will share the inspiration behind her stunning new cookbook, “My Cypriot Table”, at Sarnia Library Theatre on Friday, September 5 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event will include a Q&A session and book signing. “My Cypriot Table” will be available for purchase.

Learn more and register online

Now Showing – Aberdeen (2024) with Director Eva Thomas

Watch Aberdeen at Sarnia Library Theatre on Thursday, September 25 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. “Aberdeen” follows a woman who must rise above hardships to save her grandchildren, and herself. Director Eva Thomas will join us for a Q & A following the film.

Learn more and register online

Discover agricultural history at Lambton Heritage Museum’s PA Day event on September 19

Celebrate 200 years of agricultural history during Farmyard Frolics, Lambton Heritage Museum’s first PA Day event of the new school year! Join us on Friday, September 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., for a family-friendly event exploring our newly renovated agricultural display hall.

Enjoy interactive exhibits on farming practices including clearing land, planting, plowing, and harvesting. Take a guided tour at 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., or 2:30 p.m., test your observation skills with a farm-themed I Spy challenge, and catch live broom-making demonstrations at 12:00 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. Regular admission rates apply.

Oil Museum of Canada hosts Author Talk with Marie Carter for Culture Days

The Oil Museum of Canada, in partnership with Lambton County Library, is hosting a free Author Talk presentation on Saturday, September 27 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. as part of the Library’s Culture Days activities.

Author Marie Carter will discuss her book In the Light of Dawn, which highlights the Dawn Settlement, a historic abolitionist community in rural Ontario led by Reverend Josiah Henson. In the Light of Dawn presents an expansive yet nuanced account of a small rural town that challenges traditional notions of Black History and the contributions of early Black pioneers, leaving behind an enduring legacy.

Copies of In the Light of Dawn are available for purchase in the Oil Museum’s gift shop. Space is limited for this presentation and registration is required. To register, visit the event registration form. Oil Museum admission will be free on Saturday, September 27 to celebrate Culture Days. The Museum is open 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Lambton County Archives announces September workshop schedule

Lambton County Archives offers a variety of free workshops to help residents build their research skills and historical knowledge. The following workshops will take place in September. These sessions will cover specific topics, with some workshops taking place at the Archives and others hosted at Lambton County Library locations.

Upcoming JNAAG events