The board of South March Highlands has approved a plan to develop the southmarchhighlands.ca website into a tool which will be effective to marshall support to preserve as much of the South March Highlands as possible. This plan is really a process, the first step of which was described by Sandy Hill design consultant Roufa Therrien at the May 1st meeting – to create a lot of innovative and useful content.

Cette étape et les autres qui suivent ont pour but de regagner l’appui de beaucoup de supporters et de faire en sorte qu’un maximum de personnes voudront participer dans les activités de revendication environnementale de la coalition des Hautes terres South March. Nous allons miser sur la diversité du contenu pour gagner un public de plus en plus large.

Thus we would be very happy to get contributions (photos, which we will credit; audio recordings of bird songs; articles about your hiking or mountain biking experiences). Email roufa.therrien/at/gmail.com or judy.makin/at/opera.ncf.ca if you’d like to help make this website a great success ahead of our June 2 Celebration & Re-engagement Event.

Training sessions for contributors

We will be hosting at least two SMH WordPress training sessions in the near future so that new authors understand the techniques we are building into the South March Highlands website, so that it is increasingly visible on Google and social media.

In other words, we’ll show you a few things that will make any article or material you contribute stand out from the crowd a tiny bit more.

Sounds like a deal if you ask me!

For now, we celebrate by thanking Mitch Brisebois for submitting South March Highlands to the Canadian Institute of Planners’ contest. And we’re also sharing just a few of the many photographs of the area.

The first two photographs are by Deanna Wright – Beaver Pond (left) and Blue Heron (centre). The rock formation known as “The Sentinel” was shot by Chris Busby.

As follow up to the concerns expressed here and also raised by the Greenspace Alliance, here is an update showing the proportion of ash trees in and around the South March Highlands we wish to preserve for this and future generations.

There are many ash trees near the Beaver Pond, according to this map adapted from a series of Ward maps published by the City of Ottawa, each showing the proportion of ash trees along city streets and in wooded areas. Red = 50% ash trees, Yellow = 25 to 50%, Green = less than 25%. It is becoming imperative to assess what strategy the City will apply with the ash trees located around the Beaver Pond – large swath of red in the middle of the picture below.

Representatives of South March Highlands coalition are meeting to discuss how to ensure the preservation of ash trees there as well as in the “Site to be Protected” area, i.e. the one the coalition wants to wrestle away from developers’ interests.

Are you aware that the City of Ottawa may be planning to cut down hundreds of ash trees on your street, in your neighbourhood and in your parks, as is happening in other areas of the city?

Residents and community associations need to ask some hard questions about the City of Ottawa’s Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Management Program. Why are trees being cut down when there is an alternative and why hasn’t the public been consulted about impacts, costs and alternatives?

EAB will not be eliminated through widespread ash tree removal. It hasn’t worked anywhere else in Ontario or theUnited States and it is clearly not working in Ottawa either. So what is behind the City’s determination to cut down thousands of ash trees? Tender documents just released by the City, showing it is seeking bidders to buy the wood for commercial purposes, should raise an alarm in the community.

Urge your Councillor to hold a meeting as soon as possible to review the City’s plan to remove trees in your Ward and to discuss alternatives for saving these trees.

The Immeasurable Value of Trees: Trees, particularly those in an urban setting, are a critical asset vital to the whole community. Whether beautifying our streets, shading our parks or enhancing our property, trees improve air quality and health, save us energy costs, add to the enjoyment of our home and increase the resale value of our property as well as the desirability of our neighbourhood. Trees add to the beauty, liveability and image of a city.

Given trees importance to all of us, why hasn’t the City made it a priority to consult with the community in developing a plan to save as many of our Ash trees, affected by emerald ash borer, as possible?

First observed in Ottawa in the summer of 2008, this insect presents a serious threat to 25 per cent of the city’s forest cover located on both public and private properties. It has already spread across this city, with hundreds of trees cut down and many more slated to be taken down by the city. If removing trees was first thought to prevent the spread of the disease, it clearly isn’t working. We need a better plan.

The Alternative to Tree Removal: Oakville Ontario launched an aggressive program in 2010 to save its Ash trees by treating them with Treeazin rather than cut them down. The treatment which costs $160 to $190 per tree and is good for two years is far less than the City of Ottawa is paying to remove and dispose of a tree, estimated to be anywhere from $1,200 to $1,800. Oakville’s best practices approach is outlined at: http://www.bioforest.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=33&pageid=1063 These short videos are a must see.

Oakville identified early on that the most important element of the success of its EAB management project was its Communication Program and the input and participation of residents, something that is sadly lacking in Ottawa.

Cost to Ottawa Taxpayers: We have yet to learn what the overall cost of this program is to Ottawataxpayers but it will be very substantial considering that the cost of removing trees is significantly more than treating them. Furthermore, when you consider that it takes a tree almost 40 years to mature and you add the loss of the environmental and aesthetic services this tree would have provided to the community, it becomes painfully obvious that there must be a better way.

Disposal of Trees: Residents are expressing concern about the disposal of infected wood. Where is it going and how is it being treated to ensure that it does not increase the spread of EAB?

Negative Impact on Wildlife: The removal of trees, particularly during the spring birthing season, is having a very harmful impact on birds and mammals. Why have wildlife organizations not been consulted? When will the City of Ottawa finally release the long overdue Wildlife Strategy draft to the Wildlife Strategy Working Group as promised by Mayor Jim Watson?

Lack of Community Consultation: EAB surfaced in Ottawa in 2008; a presentation by staff to the City’s Environment Committee on October 18, 2011 identified a detailed Communications Plan that included Workshops, Educational Materials, Community Outreach and Stakeholder Awareness. None of this has taken place. Instead, the City has scheduled only two public information sessions and this is only occurring after hundreds of trees have already been cut down. These are not consultations in that they don’t provide a forum for open dialogue or for questions and answers to be heard by all. It is not, therefore, surprising that few people attended the first session.

Now is the time to speak out before more of our valuable trees are destroyed.

Ottawa Councillor Contact Information:

http://www.ottawa.ca/en/city_hall/councilcommittees/mayor_council/councillors/index.html

Ward Maps: http://www.ottawa.ca/cs/groups/content/@webottawa/documents/pdf/mdaw/mta1/~edisp/cap106603.pdf

Sponsored By:

Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre

ocwc@ncf.ca

In an effort to have our voices heard by Mayor and City Councils, many community and environmental groups have registed to attend the Mayor’s Planning Summit to be held on Apri l 26th, 2012

For more information on the Planning Summit please visit

http://ottawa.ca/en/city_hall/planningprojectsreports/planning/planningsummit/index.htm

City staff presented the interim report on the Blanding’s Turtle Management Plan and provided information on a conservation plan for the Blanding’s turtles in the South March Highlands. A strong population of approximately 100 turtles makes it home in the area of the planned Urbandale and Richcraft housing development and in the city owned conservation forest north of the Terry Fox Drive Extension. As a threatened species the city’s efforts to ensure the protection of this key turtle population will be carefully watched.

An engaged and active audience posed several specific and well researched questions to the different  experts in attendance. While few clear answers were provided, most of the members of the public in attendance left the meeting with the very clear impression that all future developments in the areas of  KNL “Blocks 7 and 8″ (north of Kizell Pond and west of Goulbourne Forced Road) has been halted pending future study and approvals. A small reprieve in the constant assaults on this beautiful area. Time to organize, take stock and plan our next steps!!!

Next key dates:  The turtle conservation plan is expected in the fall of 2012 and the next phase of the AECOM study is expected in January 2013.

The settlement is good news for the South March Highlands, as not only is there a commitment by the city to take the importance of linkages (eco-corridors) seriously during the next round of urban expansion (yes, the 2014 Official Plan review is underway), but the City will,  before 2014 “identify and map existing and conceptual natural heritage linkages at a City-wide scale, including consideration of regional linkages outside the City boundaries. The City will carry out this work either in partnership with other organizations or agencies (e.g. the Nature Conservancy of Canada or the National Capital Commission) or on its own.”

The immediate benefit of this agreement is the greatly increased likelihood that an eco-corridor will be preserved between the South March Highlands and the Greenbelt and Ottawa River.

Click here to see the settlement.

These visits to the South March Highlands provide an excellent learning opportunity for the children and a “teachable moment” about the importance of always maintaining a balance between urban development and conserving our environment.  More school field trips are planned for 2012.  Discussions between SMH-CRC and the two school boards in Ottawa to expand the school outreach campaign have been very positive and in 2012 we expect to have many many more children visit the Kizell Pond and Beaver Forest areas.

If you are a teacher interested in participating please send us an email and we will gladly organize a field trip!