Our 2005 Submission to the NCC

In May 2005, the Poets' Pathway Committee made a second presentation to the NCC's Board of Directors, this time focussing on what we propose for the Southern Corridor.

Here is the brief that was submitted. A Press Release and Mr. Beaudry's reply follow below.

Erwin Dreessen's slides (download all [2.86 MB pdf], or one by one below) and speaking notes:

Presentation to the NCC Board of Directors - May 3, 2005

Four Points Sheraton, 35 rue Laurier, Gatineau, Notre Dame Room

Commemorating Canadian Poets

SLIDE 1 - TITLE PAGE

Good evening, Mr. Beaudry, Members of the Commission. My name is Erwin Dreessen. On behalf of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital it is a pleasure to address you again -- we were the first group you heard from when you began holding meetings of this kind, in May 2002.

We presented to you then our proposal for a Poets' Pathway in Ottawa and we are happy to provide you with an update on this project. The presentation today is jointly on behalf of the Greenspace Alliance and an organization which grew out of the Poets' Pathway Committee and the Ottawa Literary Heritage Society. The Poets' Pathway Committee is now constituted as a joint creation of both organizations, with myself and Dr. Steven Artelle as co-chairs.

First, we'll recap what the Poets' Pathway proposal is about. Then we'll update you on the status of the project. Finally, we have a very specific request to make of you and we fervently hope you will accede to our request because it is only with your cooperation that a celebration of Canadian Poets can be realized in what we believe is the most appropriate way.


SLIDE 2 - POETS’ PATHWAY OVERVIEW MAP

You may recall that, in broad strokes, the Pathway would run from Britannia in the west, going south along existing pathways, then turn east along a railway and Nepean Creek, through the Southern Corridor including McCarthy Woods, and on northward, again mostly along existing pathways, through Pleasant Park Woods and along the Rideau River, to end up at Beechwood Cemetery.

This themed recreational pathway is conceived as a fitting commemoration of Canada's poets, and in particular the members of the Mouvement littéraire and the Confederation Group of Poets who were active, here in Ottawa, in the late 19th century, and who helped build this country.

I am happy to report that excellent progress is being made to realize a site in commemoration of the Poets buried at Beechwood Cemetery, perhaps as early as this fall. Beechwood Cemetery management is fully behind the project and we expect formal support from the Beechwood Cemetery Foundation to come out of their Board meeting which is taking place today.

What we want to focus on with you today is the bottom part, the jewel in the necklace -- McCarthy Woods and, especially, the meadow to the west of it -- which we propose to designate as a Canadian Poets' Park.


SLIDE 3 - TWO QUOTES, FROM THE ARTS & HERITAGE PLAN AND THE OFFICIAL PLAN

But first, by way of update, I want to mention that the Poets' Pathway concept has been adopted in the City of Ottawa's Arts & Heritage Plan as a project to pursue with the National Capital Commission and that there is also permissive language in the new Official Plan.

We have also received support from four Advisory Committees to the City of Ottawa and from members of the local and national poets community. We soon realized that it would be easy to obtain any number of further endorsements -- frankly, everyone we have spoken to thinks our commemoration proposal is a terrific idea.

The key party we need on board for this project to go forward, is the major landowner of that jewel in the necklace -- the Southern Corridor -- namely you, the National Capital Commission.


SLIDE 4 - SOUTHERN CORRIDOR CONCEPT PLAN

The main portion of the Southern Corridor lands are depicted here, with McCarthy Woods in the top right-hand corner; there is a 58 ha meadow to the west of it and there is a smaller parcel of open land, just off this map to the east. Another portion owned by the NCC is off the map to the west -- that section along the railway that I mentioned earlier.

We propose to turn this central block of land into a Canadian Poets' Park and I'll explain in a moment why that would be the most fitting tribute to these poets. We envisage formalizing the pathways; at selected spots, plaques would inform the visitor of our literary heritage and invite reflection; perhaps there would be a viewing platform at one or two spots, such as at that knoll, from where one can see the Peace Tower.

This site, I should add, is easily accessible by public transport from two sides; also, a Light Rail station is planned in the top left-hand corner of this picture.


SLIDE 5 - NCC BAR CHART OF COMMEMORATION THEMES

Here is another important piece of background. NCC staff recently looked around the Capital to see how many representations could be found of six commemoration themes. As you can see, staff could find only one commemorative expression of Intellectual & cultural life (and that is thanks to including Sports in Cultural Life – the one instance is the statue of Maurice "Rocket" Richard here in Hull).

Our proposal would help you rectify that serious imbalance.


SLIDE 6 - FOUR PORTRAITS (D'Arcy McGee, Macdonald, Laurier, Lampman)

I already noted that these poets helped build the nation, here in the Capital The last page of our brief provides you with some quotes from several Fathers of Confederation as well as from the most well-known poet of the time, Archibald Lampman.


SLIDE 7 - LIST OF POETS - CONFEDERATION GROUP & MOUVEMENT LITTÉRAIRE

Why a commemoration in the form of a nature park and a pathway?  A commemoration through a "walk through nature" would be most appropriate because, like work of other "naturalist" writers in this time period, their poems are characterized by an intimate sense of place, a deep engagement with nature.

Poems like Archibald Lampman's "Winter Uplands" or Alfred Garneau's "La Rivière" speak of landscapes that are still available in precious spots... in the Southern Corridor. ("La Rivière" is about the Rideau River.) You can't get the sense of what they were writing about by walking along Confederation Boulevard.

As you can see, there is quite a list of poets whose work can serve as inspiration for such a commemoration -- one that, while walking through nature, would inform the visitor of their truly remarkable literary achievement, and that would invite reflection on our relationship with nature through poetry. Time is too short to detail the many other opportunities along the pathway for linking heritage structures and "intimate experiences" with our literary heritage.


SLIDE 8 (313 KB pdf) - GROUP PICTURE OF BIRD WATCHING OUTING

And the poets did not just write about landscapes -- observations about birds and other wildlife also permeate their work. That too is still available in the Southern Corridor as a small group of us could observe one beautiful morning [April 5], when in 2 hours time we were able to see or hear 21 different kinds of birds! A recent evaluation document commissioned by the City has identified the meadow next to McCarthy Woods as "prime feeding habitat for urban woodland raptors" and...


SLIDE 9- COOPER'S HAWK

... we were all excited of course when we were indeed able to spot a Cooper's Hawk.

One thing our expert guide stressed was this: these birds need not just the woods, but also the meadow next to it. Experience shows that, if you preserve a forest but not the adjacent meadow, biodiversity goes way down. So would, in this instance, the opportunity to connect with our literary heritage.


SLIDE 10 - THREE CEDAR WAXWINGS

SLIDE 11 (586 KB pdf) - PICTURE OF PATHWAY


Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, the ideal place for a fitting tribute to Canada's literary heritage is through the designation of the Southern Corridor lands as a Canadian Poets’ Park which, in turn, would be the centrepiece of our proposed Poets' Pathway.

These lands (excepting McCarthy Woods narrowly defined) have been on the surplus list for many years but political and popular opposition have prevented their development into housing subdivisions. We are urging you at this time to reserve these lands for potential designation as a Canadian Poets' Park, and to agree in principle to engage -- with us, with the City of Ottawa and with the Beechwood Cemetery Foundation -- in the realization of a Poets' Pathway.

Thank you for this opportunity.

The Greenspace Alliance issued a press release and the presentation received coverage on CBC Radio.

As is customary at these annual meetings of interest groups with the NCC's Board of Directors, Chairman Beaudry replied with scripted comments. A formal reply was received later.

Comments? Suggestions? Visit the Poets' Pathway Forum!

A Birdwatching Walk with Tony Beck

In the crisp morning hours of April 5, 2005 renowned bird photographer Tony Beck led a field trip to the future Canadian Poets' Park. Participants included Richard Scott (then of the NCC) and Councillor Maria McRae. These lines from Archibald Lampman's "Solitude" set us on our way:

Sometimes a hawk screams or a woodpecker
Startles the stillness from its fixèd mood
With his loud careless tap. Sometimes I hear
The dreamy white-throat from some far-off tree
Pipe slowly on the listening solitude
His five pure notes succeeding pensively.

Then, in just two hours we observed (seeing or hearing) no fewer than twenty-one species of birds:

Song Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, American Kestrel, Red-winged Blackbird, Ring-billed Gull, Wood Duck, Cedar Waxwing, Dark-eyed Junco, Mallard, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, Canada Goose, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Black-capped Chickadee.

And, the prize sight of the outing: an adult Cooper's Hawk! Tony assured us that, if we would come back a month later, we'd be able to observe a whole set of different birds. He believes that the habitat is good for summer nesting species (Clay-coloured Sparrow and Field Sparrow) that might be uncommon or rare in the Ottawa area. He noted various berry bushes in the meadow that birds feed on and stressed that it is the combination of woods and meadow that brings about the diversity in wildlife. These berries provide food for a great variety of migrating and over-wintering species, making this an attractive staging area.

He suggested placing some Wood Duck housing in the forest near the edge as this could attract Eastern Screech-Owls for nesting.

Here is a picture of some of the participants, and another of cedar waxwings -- with thanks to Jim Robertson.

Comments? Suggestions? Visit the Poets' Pathway Forum!

A Walk in the Woods and Meadow

On Sunday, May 21, 2006, the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee organized the first of a series of walks in Ottawa's natural areas. The walk took place in McCarthy Woods and its Meadow to the west and was under the guidance of Erwin Dreessen and Seaton Findlay. Here is Erwin's report.

There was an excellent turnout -- I estimate about 50 people, and this on a rainy day! Actually, the rain was not bad, and no bother at all within the woods. Quite muddy in some spots, but we all came prepared. Participants included Councillor Maria McRae and John Sankey.

We started out behind the Hunt Club/Riverside Community Centre where the Poets' Pathway Committee has proposed that an inaugural site of the Pathway be created. Councillor McRae gave introductory remarks, emphasizing the disputed status of these lands and what the city is doing (a birding study that is now under way). I then described the Poets' Pathway project as a fitting match of commemoration of Canada's/Ottawa's literary history with preservation of natural areas. I handed around James Ryan's design for the inaugural site, first submitted to the City in December 2003, and recited Archibald Lampman's poem, "On the Companionship with Nature," that would be featured there (in English and French).

As we headed into the woods co-host Seaton Findlay pointed out the edge nature of the vegetation, and the tangle of buckthorn everywhere. We later walked into various sections of these magnificent woods, past what sometimes were fields of fading Trillium, and we also learned what little is known about the history of this site.

When we reached the western edge, I cited the last two lines of Lampman's "Winter Uplands" and told the story of Bill Royds' epiphany, talked about the birding field trip we held last April (I read the six lines from "Solitude" I used then & passed around the report), and conveyed generally the idea of dedicating this land as a Canadian Poets' Park. I passed around James' preliminary sketch of park features.

At that point the group split up, some to explore the meadow further (I encouraged them to go find the cherished spot from which a view of the Rideau River can be had), others returning to the HC/RCC. The audience was quite appreciative of all the information they had received. There was a good turnout by people living close by, but a show of hands requested by Maria at the start had indicated that perhaps 40% were from further away.

Comments? Suggestions? Visit the Poets' Pathway Forum!