Environmental Footprint Increased with Removal of Maplewood from Dundas Valley

Sarah hiked to Maplewood in Dundas Valley along the Monarch Trail to view
the rehabilitated site now that the buildings are removed

Resource Management Centre (bell, above) and inscription (below), only
artifacts that remain at site in Dundas Valley

Maplewood is gone, and nature is returning.

Restore Cootes is pleased with the outcome, but we wanted to see for ourselves. A visit to the site now that the demolition is complete was in order. We took a hike from Dundas University Plaza along the lovely Monarch Trail to the former site of Maplewood, deep in the heart of Dundas Valley.

The photos above are worth 1000 words, clearly the structures are removed, and a small open meadow is currently evident. Not sure if there is a native planting going on, or planned. I will look into the details for a future post.

The Hamilton Spectator reported that "The driveway leading to the hall from Artaban Road will be converted into a pathway the width of a trail." This has not happened yet from what we saw, and there was clearly an erosion issue of driveway gravel and sand being washed into the creek and culverts, an environmental problem with the current driveway identified during the discussion on Maplewood. This is another item I will look into: when will the changes to the driveway be made?

It's great to see another project that erases the human footprint in favour of ecological rehabilitation. It's what we love at Restore Cootes. We hope you do too!

LINKS:

An article in the Spectator gives some of the background on the issue: http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4407485-maplewood-hall-will-be-rubble-by-september/
Our feelings on the matter are found in an earlier post: http://restorecootes.blogspot.ca/2014/01/conservation-coin.html
Or all our posts on the topic: http://restorecootes.blogspot.ca/search/label/maplewood

MAP:

Comments

Binkley's Pond, gone for parking

Jacob Binkley (1806-67), great grandson of Marx [Binkley], built the handsome stone house that still stands at 54 Sanders Blvd at the head of a ravine. The house was completed in 1847 and named Lakelet Vale, as it had a little spring-fed lake at the rear. Binkley's Pond, as it was known, was used for skating, fishing, and good times. It is now the Zone 6 parking lot at McMaster University on the west side of Cootes Drive. Loreen Jerome, The Way We Were "The House that Jacob Built" Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association of Resident Homeowners Inc. (AWWCA) http://www.awwca.ca/articles/ Skater's on Binkley's Pond circa 1917, now a McMaster parking lot

Stairs Connect Us: Please Sign A Petition

A group of residents in the University Gardens neighbourhood are seeking improved connections for active transportation. The neighbourhood sits on a plateau above McMaster's west campus parking lots. A path through a wooded section between Grant Boulevard and McMaster's parking lot "P" is the shortest and most direct route that connects hikers, and commuters walking or cycling, but it is on the side of a hill that becomes treacherous in winter. At the bottom of the hill, a concrete bridge spans the narrow Ancaster Creek that is the dividing line between Hamilton's Ward 13 (Dundas) and Ward one's Ainslie Woods North neighbourhood. SIGN THE PETITION HERE Existing stairs were removed by the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) with no plans for replacement. Area residents have started a petition to request a replacement set of stairs and will use the petition as support when they go to the HCA Board meeting in early June. The text of the petition reads: The Ham...

Where did the water go? Art action in Lot M Parking

West Campus Eco-Art Project A walking activity and site activation on McMaster’s West Campus. West Campus Eco-Art Project is a project that incorporates creative walking activities and an artistic site activation connected with the West Campus Redesign Initiative at McMaster University. The initiative provides opportunities for connecting with nature through an on-line informational video, walking excursions and creative activities that deepen knowledge and experience with place in all its complexities (social history, citizen science, ecology and diversity). Focusing on the Coldwater creek valley on McMaster’s West Campus, participants will learn about the history and unique features of the area and will be invited to then engage with the site through observation, sketching and stencil-making. Stencils will be used to paint text and image on the parking lot asphalt to delineate a blue line that marks an historic water route. The project is supported by the McMas...

RESTORE COOTES

Search This Blog