Three organizations and about 40 people came together Saturday afternoon for an educational and investigative event at the former Guelph Reformatory grounds. All three organizations are investigating investing in a piece of the land once it comes up for sale.
Nature Today and Tomorrow at Guelph’s Yorklands was a 2Rivers Festival event sponsored by Wellington Water Watchers, and involving Yorklands Green Hub, Rare Charitable Research Reserve, and Ontario Streams. One-hour guided tours were held by each group.
When the property might go on the market remains unknown, but the Government of Ontario has made public the fact that it wants to divest itself of parcels of the land, with non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and the municipality getting first crack at purchasing the land, Val Morse of the group Yorklands Green Hub told those who gathered in the shade before taking a walk.
The site, a former prison, was once made up of about 1,000 acres of land. Just over one quarter of that is being considered for sale by the province, Morse said. Previously the prison’s abattoir was privatized, and another section now houses Guelph's waste management facilities.
None of the remaining land is currently owned by the City of Guelph, Morse said, dispelling a popular but inaccurate idea. The property has sat dormant for about 15 years.
Yorklands Green Hub has a plan to establish an urban agriculture demonstration site on the land. Ontario Streams has an interest in the full restoration of Clythe Creek that flows along the Yorklands. Clythe was rerouted decades ago, and its restoration would involve bringing back its natural flow and rejuvenating the ecosystem around it.
Rare Charitable Research Reserve owns land in nearby Cambridge that is dedicated to conservation effort and ecological research. It is investigating other potential land acquisitions in the Grand River watershed.
Staff members Tamanna Kohl and Veronika Szostak said the organization is interested in the cultural and ecological value of the former prison lands, and is looking into investing in part of the land as a conservation reserve, in partnership with other organizations. Kohl said Rare is making an effort to learn more about the property.
Morse said when the first round of acquisitions happens, if there are no bids from non-profits, the municipality, or the education sector, then the process is opened up to private land developers. Yorklands Green Hub’s interest is restricted to 70 acres at the northeast corner.
One of the goals of the walk tours was to explore the site, especially its natural environment, and to imagine the ecological restoration potential of it.
