Many of you are asking about the current status of the national Urban Park Guelph as you see lawn signs popping up around our city. The Yorklands Green Hub is one of several local groups that are part of this proposal to Parks Canada. You can review the background for this far-seeing project by reading our last few Green Door newsletters on our website. Also, please visit the Urban Park Guelph website and enjoy the short video about the proposal prepared by the Wildlands League. https://www.urbanparkguelph.com/ You can view the endorsers’ letters of support at this website – and you can order your own lawn sign to show your support!
Our heating planet is causing devastation in many parts of the world. It compels us to push for action on environmental mandates to reduce greenhouse gases. It is ever more important to conserve urban green space and green corridors, to slow the alarming loss of so much species habitat and the heat island effect in our cities.
A recent well attended meeting on May 24th brought Wildlands League staff to Guelph to talk about the possibility of having a national urban park here. Brian Masse, MP for Windsor and Jan Sumner, executive director of the Wildlands League, reviewed the history and road blocks to getting approval for a national urban park. Achieving national park status for Rouge Urban Park and the Ojibway Nature Park took many years. But Guelph citizens, with the Yorklands Green Hub, have been working on the vision for a public urban park at this site for over a decade now. And Ontario is Canada’s largest province by population; there are millions of people within an hour’s trip who could benefit from dedicated activities for nature conservation, education and Indigenous knowledge at this property.
Brian reminded us that when public properties are sold or re-purposed by the province, consid-eration must be given to the “highest and best use of the land.” All former governments have respected such a mandate. This property is mostly floodplain, streams, ponds and meadowland, with a rich Indigenous history. The meadows, trees and trails now provide habitat refuge that is vital to many species. And thousands of people already use this site for their own health and revitalization.
In 2022 Canada, along with over 100 other countries, signed onto the U.N. initiative called “30×30,” referring to actions that will help protect 30 % of our land and water by 2030. Vital ecosystems can be supported through conservation to slow the shocking loss of species from climate changes. Our government has pledged 55 million dollars to projects to slow the decline of the environment. Planting a billion trees in Canada is among the actions outlined, along with many other targets for areas of grave concern.
The highest priority for us is to support the ecological integrity of the remaining 300-plus acres of the former Ontario Reformatory (OR) lands for a National Urban Park in Guelph. Green urban corridors allow for species movement and habitat to thrive. They connect to other green corridors from south to north. This unique site in the middle of the Grand River Watershed is a critical section that such a park would protect. We encourage you to support our campaign to protect this special place.