The report prepared by Woolwich Council is a pretty clear indication that the Council which is supposed to represent us doesn’t seem to be listening to either the many very good arguments or the very strong feelings of citizens to keep this Forest as a community asset.

They want to bulldoze it and create a development so they can use the money to pay for the new Rec Center. If you have strong feelings about Victoria Glen, don’t stay home and be sad that they aren’t listening, come to the meeting because we need to show Council that thei isn’t a mere neighborhood special interest issue.

Victoria Glen Park belongs to the whole community. That means all of the the citizens of Woolwich Township. It is an asset that should not be sold without the full consent of the owners– which means US. Maybe what we REALLY need is a referendum.

If you know the area, the trail or the park, or if you care about the environment, come out to the meeting at 6:00pm Tuesday November 3rd. The only thing that might save this lovely little forest is to have a really big turnout. Because even if they don’t listen to our words, they will notice if there are enough of us.

Forget the fact that Victoria Glen Park was purchased to be a park (of the forest variety) and has been used only for that purpose to the advantage of the town for over a hundred years. Removing it will remove 50% of the public forest in the Elmira Settlement area. Since it is adjacent to the Kissing Bridge Trail it adds to the whole Woolwich Trails experience.

Forget the fact that it is one of only 3 safe habitats for all of the wildlife that’s being displaced by a building boom including the former fairgrounds and a few farms being turned into subdivisions. Even if you aren’t keen on wildlife, isn’t it a good idea to have a nice place for skinks to nest that isn’t under your shed?

Forget the fact that the houses nearby, which are farther from the flood plain have flooding issues already, but the earth moving that would need to be done will make those problems worse because it will compromise the natural drainage and filtration offered by Larch creek. It is clear that they can’t build even one house without fouling the whole forest/wetland. The end result will be houses with even worse water problems, for which the Township will be responsible.

Forget the fact that the current glut of housing and housing starts that have been put on hold only because we’re still in the grip of the current rotten economy means that money made by developming this will be minimal if not an actual loss.

Forget the fact that when all the houses in all of the subdivisions currently being built will result in twice as many families wanting to be able to take a walk in the woods, Woolwich Township will have to spend much more money than they can possibly make selling this land to buy some replacement empty stretch of land most likely devoid of trees… and even then it will take a hundred years to grow it into a forest.

I don’t live in the Victoria Glen neighborhood, it is actually a bit of a hike to get to the Forest. But it’s important that it IS there. It’s much wilder than Gibson, which I also love.

My family moved here from Brampton because (as anyone who has lived in a place where development has been allowed to run rampant knows) “greenspace” consisting of a ribbon of grass surrounding a sidewalk flanked by the occasional spindly trees surrounded by litter does not cut it.

If it was enough I would still live there where there is effective public transit and movie theatres. The reason people move to towns like this, filling up the houses in the subdivisions, and are willing to put up with an increasingly killer commute is because we want more.

Silly me… I wanted to be able to raise a family where I would be able to walk to the grocery store or to the forest. One down.

If the municipal government is in the development business maybe they shouldn’t be in the government business. Isn’t this a HUGE conflict of Interest?

Greetings,

I have driven through Elmira many times yet never knew this patch of old growth exists. Thank you for trying to protect it! I am so glad you are doing this.

I am one of the many people involved in the recent land occupation that stopped Guelph's ill-conceived Hanlon Creek Business Park. 60 of us walked onto the land and shut down construction, and lived there for 19 days. We made it front page news and the talk of the town, and a judge has ordered a temporary stop work order until the Minister of Natural Resources makes the call one way or another.

All in all it was a huge success and showed what we are capable of when we join together. This is becoming increasingly necessary nowadays as more people realize we need some serious change in how things are done.

We were told to check out this forum, and are so glad that someone has already spread the word about what we are up to.  We are having a big social event next Saturday, August 29. We would love to meet up with anyone and everyone interested and involved in land protection activity, so we can work together more in the future. Elmira is not too far away….

Please check out our website hcbpoccupation.wordpress.com, where you can find more general info and photos, and info about the event on Aug 29. Also please feel encouraged to contact us via email at hcbpoccupation@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.

i'm not even sure the message about “trendy observations” was even aimed at victoria glen:  the fact is, however, that a fair number of the people who spoke passionately at the woolwich council public meeting on “surplussing” the forest WERE people who had been “born and raised here for generations”.  the rest of us?  well, this is still our home and most of us have a strong commitment and tie to the community – and the trees! 

on another note:  today's “View from Here” in this paper is terrifying — i have a hunch many of the hundreds of people who attended that council meeting in june are still feeling the power of the group presentations and overwhelming community passion for preserving the Victoria Glen Park woods.  as we get closer the the township's releasing the final report on what they plan to do — well, preserving the woods as parkland is still nowhere near a done deal.

you can't un-cut-down a woods that's been growing for a goodly number of those generations that the earlier writer mentioned.  let's hope Woolwich Council shows leadership and wisdom in committing themselves (and subsequent generations) to true environmental stewardship.

Post edited 12:57 pm – August 12, 2009 by elmira_hunt_camp

It amases me that newcomers (to those of us born and raised here for generations)  make trendy comments to preserve a heritage that they know little if anything about.

Post edited 11:38 am – June 29, 2009 by ObserverXtra

The development of Victoria Glen park has been a hot topic in the community over the past few weeks. Below you will find links to recent articles that explain the situation. We'd like to know what you think.

Residents unite to save Victoria Glen

At issue is a township proposal to declare as surplus a total of about three acres of land it owns, a prelude perhaps to a builder clearing the forest to make room for residential development. The properties in question are in Elmira’s north end, bounded by Victoria Glen Street, Snyder Avenue North and Dunke Street North. The Kissing Bridge Trail runs to the north. [READ MORE]

Sale of parkland to fund township’s building blitz

The rationale for a residential development in Victoria Glen park slipped out at the very end of Tuesday night’s public meeting: Woolwich is counting on the money to help finance its recent construction binge. Mayor Bill Strauss, seemingly stung by the steady stream of objections from the large group of more than 150 who crammed council chambers, blurted out that foregoing the plan would mean looking elsewhere for cash. [READ MORE]