Springwater Park newsclips

By Ian McInroy, Barrie Examiner February 13, 2013 

SPRINGWATER TWP. – What supporters of Springwater Provincial Park want and what the County of Simcoe can deliver may be two different things.

The 193-hectare park, located north of Barrie, will be on the agenda of county councillors Thursday morning during a performance management meeting.

The item revolves around the province’s decision to change the day-use only park’s status from operational to non-operational — meaning it will remain open but with no amenities — as well as asking council to provide direction on what county action might be taken regarding the park, which is under provincial jurisdiction.

Groups opposed to the park’s status being changed have suggested the county could be doing more to preserve it and members of the Springwater Park Citizens’ Coalition (SPCC) will be attending Thursday’s meeting, according to the coalition’s Les Stewart, who is making a delegation to council at the meeting.

“Both citizen’s groups are getting out the bodies,” he said Wednesday.

“The message I would be saying to the county is the public is way further ahead on this issue of keeping Springwater Park open than the county appears to be,” Stewart said. “They should be coming with a clear plan and a budget.

“The public doesn’t look to Springwater Township or the county for permission to have Springwater Park, thank you very much,” he added.

“The SPCC believes the county communities strongly desire our municipalities to respond with an integrated, sustainable and financially prudent business plan to retain, renew and restore Springwater Park for its next century of service.”

County Warden Cal Patterson has been in contact with Ministry of Natural Resources (which oversees the park) officials and said the county’s options concerning the park are limited.

“Let’s be extremely clear: the park is a provincial park — it is not the county’s jurisdiction. Residents and groups hoping to save the park should direct those concerns to the province which owns the park,” he said.

“Our understanding from the province is that they will not sell the land and the only partnership option is for a management agreement to run the park operations under the MNR’s terms and policies with the partner absorbing the expenses.

“This itself is limiting as the province is removing the attractions and amenities.”

Patterson reiterated the county did offer to purchase or lease the land and the answer from the province was no.

“With the province unwilling to sell the land, under the current operating model there are no viable financial options for county involvement. This is what will be discussed at committee (on Thursday),” he said.

With the news of the park’s changing status, the county became concerned about the stewardship of the land, he added. “This led to a meeting with the province and Springwater Township. The land will continue to be owned by the province and they will maintain their stewardship practices, which is good news,” he said.

 

by Les Stewart  Midhurst Newsletter February 2013

The forests, lakes and streams of Simcoe County developed over millions of years but very nearly permanently destroyed within 50 years in the mid 1800s by reckless actions. The forests fell, triggering a profound changes and one environmental crisis after another. Land too infertile to farm was left to create dust storms to such an extent that in the 1920s, farmers in Ontario had to plow their lanes in the summer because of the sand drifts. Fires ran unchecked.

Two men, E.C. Drury of Crown Hill and Edmund Zavitz, Ontario’s first forester, were friends that devoted their lives to redeeming this error. Drury as a boy remembers the night sky glowing red at the fires from the Midhurst plains, the water being poisoned, the flash fires. His faith drove him to act. In 1905, Drury and Zavitz surveyed the Angus, Orr Lake and Midhurst areas for the sites of a future tree forest station. The Midhurst plains were chosen because of the abundant springs that have been a significant headwaters to the internationally recognized Minesing Wetlands.

In 1922, the Midhurst Forest Station started and, with it, Springwater Park. The park was proof of the value of reforestation to the municipalities in central Ontario and private landowners. The ponds were hand-dug during the Great Depression for the tree nursery and the Midhurst CPR station, performed by hundreds of local families and lead by practical men like Meth Adamson and Cyril Jackson. At its peak, 10 million trees per year were shipped from Midhurst. Drury and Zavitz put into place the systems where two billion trees were planted in Ontario.

Sanctuary for all creatures: The definition of a sanctuary is a sacred space, a refuge, some place that is safe from harm: an asylum. The Vespra Boys cenotaph stands as silent testimony to the human need for peace, reflection and rejuvenation. The horrors of the Great War found a place for the families of those that fought and died within a living 477 acre Eden. Almost immediately, unwanted animals were kept at Springwater, starting with pheasants, deer, raptors and even generations of wolves because those God-created creatures needed to be taken care of because of a faith heritage that has only recently diminished.

Challenge: The tree nursery closed in 1993, the CPR station is also gone. It seems all we know how to do is build homes without any jobs to go along with it but that’s not community-building: that’s another version of a clear-cutting mentality. Does the story of Springwater Park have to end or is there enough wisdom locally to re-kindle the idea that man as an obligation to care for the weakest in their society? And in that effort, have a chance to find their own redemption?

Springwater Park Citizens’ Coalition SPCC: The purpose of the Springwater Park Citizens’ Coalition is to support the sustainable operation of Springwater Park . We will provide a supporting role to the professional management of the park, water and forest and will assist where and when appropriate.

In co-operation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, municipal governments, public and private landowners, the Nottawasaga Conservation Authority, water experts, First Nations, CFB Borden, veterans’ groups, and the faith, business and development communities, we hope to help:

• develop a multi-year strategic business plan,

• document the story of the park, tree nursery and CPR station (Midhurst Plains),

• encourage public participation through relationship building with existing community groups (service, faith, environmental, other),

• move toward the establishment of a park auxiliary,

• retain, restore and renew the animal sanctuary and Vespra Boys cenotaph,

• help promote the parklands and programs that may be developed,

• establish a L’Arch community for Simcoe County,

• promote the park as a version of Simcoe County’s “High Park”, and

• establish a Friends of Springwater Park group,

The SPCC looks forward to joining with our neighbours in the future realization of E.C. Drury’s faith-based dream of reconciliation and atonement; in this world and the next.

Letter to the Barrie Advance Feb 13, 2013 

BARRIE – My family and heritage – that is what Springwater Park means to me.  

It represents to me a place my family has visited and enjoyed for four generations.  

While walking through the park, I can almost imagine my grandparents and their siblings and families walking the same paths and enjoying the same spaces as I do when I am there.  It is a place where I can remember visiting frequently as a child with my family and schools. It is where I have spent many hours with my own children, exploring and searching for frogs, walking in the forest, visiting the animals and playing for hours on the play equipment. 

There is a quiet character to the park – some sort of ingrained ease and a relaxed pace that causes people to walk a bit slower and breathe a bit easier. This park, while it may not be an entertainment mecca as you find now at many parks and commercial settings, somehow doesn’t need to be.

Springwater Park has been an integral part of the Midhurst and Barrie-area communities in Ontario for over 100 years and is now slated to close next spring, as it has been basically deemed unprofitable by the MNR. It is the only provincial park to house animals –all of which were injured in the wild. 

I think that it is irresponsible for local governments and the MNR to consider closing this park and designated green space – especially in this day and age of incredible projected growth for this area of Ontario.  This rash decision needs to be revisited and options considered.  Possible partnerships with service groups and interested local businesses and citizens can only work towards making this park even better – and help to keep it safe for generations of families to enjoy and benefit from for years to come. How can you help save the park?  Make phone calls and send emails to your local politicians, and media. 

Let your voice be heard before it is too late. 

Barrie