Observer cartoon hits home - again

A reader pointed out that this week's "The View From Here" cartoon in the Woolwich Observer (dated August 13th) deals rather chillingly with the as-yet unresolved fate of Victoria Glen Park woods. (In response to this week's thunder and wind storm that took down many branches and several mature trees, the cartoon shows Mayor Strauss -- saying "There, we're all safer now" -- and his crew clear-cutting the woods with the caption "After fallen trees cause damage, the township calls them a potential menace, furthering development in Victoria Glen."

I remember, when we lived for a few years in the middle of the prairie in Alberta, being amazed at how my view of the natural world was sometimes light-years apart from people in the town: one of our neighbours cut down a lovely tree on her lot because it was "too messy - every fall all those leaves drop all over".

I think we're going to need to keep a close eye on this issue and not take for granted that the Powers that Be have the same sensibility we do when it comes to valuing the woods for all the reasons outlined at the public meeting. However -- they are our elected representatives and they need to know that many, many hundreds of people want that woods preserved. Period.

minutes from that meeting

I was checking on the Township of Woolwich website to see if there was any new information about when the report on Victoria Glen Park might be available and which council meeting it would be dealt with. (I've been told late September or early October -- will keep you posted!)

While I poke around the site, I did find the minutes from the June 23rd public meeting on the parkland. Take a look and see if you think it reflects the depth and intensity of the presentations.

It's been a fine summer next to the woods. Neighbours report that more people than ever are making there way down here to walk the paths -- many who hadn't really known it was there until the publicity this spring and many who have realized "you don't know what you've got until it's [almost!] gone".

Let's keep up our vigilance and make sure that this woods is one that won't go anywhere!
(The poster, above, was on the bulletin board at Foodland most of the summer.)