BEGONE UGLY, HELLO GREEN

BY PAT KEALEY

n 1996, the City of Ottawa ceased operations at the Ward Yard Facility on Windsor Avenue. In June 1998, the City proposed selling the property and developing part of the site to generate revenue. A public meeting at the Firehall was scheduled to receive input from the community.

Many residents attended and voiced their opinions. While some favoured development, the majority wanted the site to revert to parkland for recreational use. The City seemed reluctant at that time and thus the Save Windsor Park petition was organized by Gary Lum. Residents collected several hundred signatures to convince the City we really wanted this land to be part of Windsor Park again.

The City of Ottawa is demolishing its building at 1B Windsor Avenue. It sits at the western corner of Windsor Park, surrounded by approximately 20,000 square feet of asphalt and a 2.5 metre (8') high chain-link fence.

In the past, the City parked heavy equipment and trucks there. The area is adjacent to the Rideau River, accessible from both Windsor Avenue and the existing bike path along the River.

The existing building will be demolished this April. OSCA proposes to remove the asphalt, the chain link fence, cover the site with top soil and seed it, plant trees and shrubs and extend existing paths into this new area of parkland.

Windsor Park is very heavily used, with rinks in winter, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, wading pool, and play equipment for toddlers and small children. It serves several thousand people from the immediate area and beyond.

A new area for passive recreation and enjoyment of the River locale will be a wonderful environmental plus with the restoration of the natural setting, but a delightful oasis of greenery and flowers for park users in summer and a welcome addition to the small fry  toboggan hill in winter. As the only Dog Run Free park east of Bank Street, it is much loved appreciated by dog owners and their pets.

We feel the water quality in the River will be enhanced and improved by the removal of the asphalt and the additional green space will create a buffer zone for run off from the adjacent neighbourhood.

ECOS has scheduled a bioblitz wetlands festival at the eastern end of the Park for June. This event will raise awareness about the regreening of the Ward Yard and help us to select appropriate planting and trees.

With impending amalgamation and  the possibility of other structures in the Region being decommissioned, this environmental rehabilitation of the Ward Yard could be  considered a pilot project.

OSCA has applied to the Region for a grant to do this work under the Community Environmental Projects Grants program. It is a costly undertaking and we will not know until June how much money we will receive. It may be necessary to scale down our plans and do the work in stages. The City will give us matching funds up to $7,500 and we hope to start this summer with the fence and asphalt removal, with top soil and planting in the fall. We have been most fortunate in having a preliminary site plan done for us by Christopher Brown of the landscape architectural firm of Corush, Sunderland and Wright.

We welcome your ideas, questions and comments, and quite possibly your volunteer labour at the site when we know how much we will be doing this summer and fall. Depending on how much funding we receive from the Region, we may well be fundraising in the neighbourhood. If you're interested, please contact Gary Lum at 730 4383 or Pat Kealey at 730 2627.