The following update was provided by Re-Imagine Ottawa. See their website for more information.
Saving the Farm & Queen Juliana Park
Trees down at Queen Juliana Park
The destruction took place behind a tall fence festooned with pleas to halt the project. A Red-tailed hawk looked on, perhaps wondering where her last year’s nest had gone. Our opposition continues. A comment we received:
“Such a terrible loss, I can’t understand why in this part of the world the life of an old tree is seen as nothing. While living in Europe I saw trees being healed, supported, cared for. I witnessed a derooted huge weeping willow put strait back with the assistance of a helicopter.”
Independent expert opinion on hospital’s environmental impact assessment
ReImagine Ottawa asked Dr. Nina Munteanu to review and comment on the assessment done by the hospital’s consultant. Dr Munteanu is a professional biologist who served for over 25 years as senior scientist in limnology and freshwater ecology. In her 12-page report she concluded:
“Ultimately, I am not convinced that the ecosystem value of the study area was sufficiently characterized by the Parsons EIS and EEA. My opinion is that they were hastily put together, appear to internally contradict, and lack key detail and context for reader/stakeholder understanding. The EIS and EEA read more like checklists with a goal to meet regulatory criteria than actual environmental effects investigations.”
Indigenous support
The Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition has written to all levels of government to request a halt to the garage, stating that the voices of urban Indigenous people have not yet been heard.
Local MPP making the loss of Farm an election issue
Read Joel Harden’s statement at: https://www.joelhardenmpp.ca/_update_107
A new citizen’s group is fighting for the Farm
Revisit the Farm has a website that provides a remarkably simple way to email to decision makers. See: https://www.revisitthefarm.org/index.html
Are you a birder? Know one?
Or perhaps you’d just like to help? There are laws protecting migratory birds and nests and we are looking for a volunteer to investigate.
Val Swinton for ReImagine Ottawa