Tuesday 3 August 2010

South March Highlands: Ottawa's Fragile Urban Wilderness


*Our* World Tuesday
MWT White

House hunting in Eastern Ontario, we discovered housing developments that didn't look like typical suburban growth.

Some are spending more money, e.g., Dunrobin Shores west of Ottawa, and investing in 2 acres lots. It really changes the landscape. Unlike Toronto, you can drive an hour and find yourself in one of the greenspaces. This allows flora and fauna to continue on in their natural habitat.

In many urban centres people are taking up Guerilla Gardening! What a great idea. In my penultimate house I was creating more garden than grass on the front lawn. It is becoming more frequent.

The destruction of habitat is something happening all over the world. Here is a story from Kanata, now part of greater Ottawa in that great Harris amalgamation. (That is another blog post topic!)

Kanata forest development spurs public meeting

The South March Highlands, located in Ottawa, Canada, are home to hundreds of native species of life, including 18 recognised species-at-risk. The dense biodiversity of the area will soon be lost, marred by road construction and urban development.











Three major green spaces in E. Ontario
To speak out against the destruction of this ecologically precious region, send your opinions to the people listed at the end of the video, and join the Facebook group "I want to save the land North of Beaver Pond Park in Kanata, Ontario"!



6 comments:

LadyFi said...

I listened to a great talk on www.ted.com about guerrilla gardening. So necessary in order to preserve the balance of life!

Carolyn said...

Jenn, you are spot on about what we are doing to our earth. We trod where no man should ever trod and we do not give a second thought to it....we feel it is our right rather than a privledge.
Several years ago I read "This Ragged Place: Travels Across the Landscape" by Terry Glavin which opened my eyes to the underhanded ways some people plot to destroy our land for profit....and this is right here in our own back yard!
Great post and have a nice week.
Smiles

Cloudia said...

wonderful country!

Aloha from Honolulu :)

Comfort Spiral

EG CameraGirl said...

Guerilla gardening is a wonderful trend. I DO hope it's not just a fad though.

Vagabonde said...

We visited a botanic garden in California which used to be a dump. I wish more cities would grow gardens that way. There were so many beautiful flowers (I took too many pictures and my post is too long!)

W.C.Camp said...

Wow great masthead shot of the lake and activity. We actually have grown tomatoes in our front flowerbed before. It looks a little weird but anywhere you can get some sun you gotta use it right! As for the development - if it is beautiful, people want to be there. I think if you keep encoraging responsible growth, everybody can end up winning! Good Luck. W.C.C.