A small but passionate group of protesters took to the streets Saturday, calling on the City of Orillia to take better care of its wetlands.
Approximately 20 people braved blustery winds, swirling snow and a biting wind chill to join the Orillia Wetland Watchers on Saturday morning in front of the Orillia Opera House. Their objective is to spread awareness about the vital role wetlands play.
Local naturalist Bob Bowles, one of the founding members of the newly formed group, says the government - at various levels - is not listening to its people.
“This here is not a power of freedom walk,” he said. “This is a mourning walk for the loss of wetlands in Ontario.”
Bowles says the provincial government, as part of its growth plan, is allowing housing developments to be built on wetlands. Municipal governments are making the same mistake and following suit, he added.
“We have a mayor and council who are going ahead and putting 360 some odd homes on wetlands,” he said, referring to a controversial residential and commercial project on the Inch Farm property proposed for the northern border of Orillia and Severn Township. “That concerns us, and we need change.”
Jill Rettinger, one of the founding members of the Orillia Wetland Watchers, says the reason for the walking protest is to spread awareness before the public information meeting about the Inch Farm proposal on Feb. 22.
“This is a visual display to show developers, city planners and City of Orillia staff that people in this city care about wetlands and something needs to change,” Rettinger said. “We can’t continue to do things the old way.”
With it being a provincial and municipal election year, Rettinger says people will be lobbying for change if there isn't any commitment from current leaders to protect wetlands.
“If the old guard can’t find new ways of doing things, then we need new people who have a fresh approach,” she said. “The wetlands need to be protected which involves identifying the wetlands. Right now they are poorly identified.”
Rettinger says there needs to be a comprehensive assessment from impartial parties to determine the functionality of the city’s wetlands. The functional wetlands need to be protected, he stressed.
“You could consider buying some of these lands and incorporating them as part of your climate change strategy,” Rettinger suggests to city council. “We also need to look at the wetlands degraded by urbanization and develop a strategy to restore those wetlands so they can be more functional.”
Rettinger says she was overwhelmed by the support Orillia Wetland Watchers received on Saturday morning despite the bitter, blustery weather.
“This event was only organized a week and a half ago, with very limited reach,” she said. “The fact that this many people have shown up on this kind of day goes to show the quality of the people in the area and how much wetlands mean to them.”
