Community development project adds colour to industrial Edinburgh Road North
BY SARAH FISCHER SPARK PROGRAM
Now that spring has finally arrived, look for new verdant patches in one of Guelph's major industrial areas.
Prof. Jim Taylor, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, is a member of a community-wide team that's leading the Edinburgh Road North Project, which aims to reclaim urban areas by planting native plant species. In this case, it's in the primarily industrial area near Edinburgh Road North, Willow Road and Shelldale Crescent.
The five-year initiative is one of numerous community development partnerships involving U of G, the City of Guelph, Guelph City Council, the Grand River Conservation Authority, local businesses and Trees for Guelph, a local not-for-profit organization dedicated to establishing green spaces in the Royal City's industrial areas. The partnerships are designed to engage Guelph residents in greening the developed areas of their local neighbourhoods.
“There are a lot of good people and organizations based on Edinburgh Road North who are involving local residents with the planning process,” says Taylor. “And when the community becomes involved, the project stands a greater chance of success.”
The Edinburgh Road North Project began after assessments of the Shelldale Crescent and Willow Road areas by U of G landscape architecture graduate students revealed a number of needs in the community.
During the first phase of the three-phase project, a student team directed by Taylor's colleague Prof. Cecelia Paine presented these findings at a community workshop, asking local residents what they believed were problems or issues in their own neighbourhoods. Residents named physical isolation from the rest of the city, lack of community activities and the need for environmental improvements among the most important issues in regenerating Edinburgh Road North.
“One of the most pressing concerns for the area is a need to be connected to the rest of the city,” says Taylor. “Connectivity, which might be something as basic as sidewalk improvements, would allow for easier access to civic activities and services found in the centre of the city.”
In the second phase of the project, he brought the workshop results to a committee of Guelph City Council, which recommended that budgets be realigned to facilitate improvements in the neighbourhood.
The third phase of the project involved a graduate studio in landscape architecture to develop detailed concepts for implementation. These plans were displayed at a community open house April 6.
Taylor is also working with Trees for Guelph to develop a prairie naturalization project on Edinburgh Road North, in which native plant species are planted to revitalize the environment. It's the latest greening project to be undertaken by Trees for Guelph, which has planted more than 70,000 trees around the city since it was established by Guelph citizens in 1990.
The Edinburgh Road North Project also offers educational opportunities for students of all ages, says Taylor. Guelph elementary school students participated in 2004's tree-planting programs throughout the city, and Trees for Guelph has collaborated with McNeil Consumer Healthcare to develop an educational CD for local high school students, designed to get them thinking about the ecological footprint.
“It's important to teach students that our resources are finite and that we should use them wisely,” says Taylor, a Trees for Guelph board member. “Through education, youth may discover an interest in urban reforestation initiatives such as those undertaken as part of the Edinburgh Road North Project.”
He notes that community outreach projects developed by U of G landscape architects are a way of taking scientific knowledge and applying it in ways to better the community.
“Such projects also demonstrate how the University and the community can work together to improve our city,” he says.
The Edinburgh Road North Project began in spring 2003 and is funded by Trees for Guelph, Guelph City Council and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
The Grand River Conservation Authority donates most of the trees planted in Trees for Guelph projects.
