RESTORE COOTES

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...

Monday, January 20, 2020 Rethinking McMaster's West Campus Floodplain and Simple I really hope that the vision for west campus does look to rehabilitate the floodplain under McMaster Parking Lot M. In these times of global climate emergency, what better contrast than cars parked on top a coldwater wetland. One is a source of our current predicament, and the other is a part of the solution to mitigate the issues we face. Meanwhile: Trail to Trespass McMaster still has to come to terms with the fact they won't allow people currently parking in the west campus to use the perfectly lovely remnant of the former Royal Botanical Gardens nature trails to access campus. It's very odd that it was easier to get hundreds of parking spaces removed to create the required 30-metre buffer to the coldwater creek there than it is to get McMaster to stop blocking access to the trail. I'm hoping to open (another) conversation with McMaster about this trail. In the mean...

I've sometimes wondered how certain plants started growing in our yard. I'm guessing seed dispersal: the wind floats some through the air, sticky burrs caught on a racoon's fur drop as they pass through at night, a nuthatch drops some seeds from its tail-end while searching for bugs on the side of a tree. The methods of delivery are varied, but the process of growth continues with time and the right conditions - rain, sun, soil -  and the wind, the racoon, the nuthatch are forgotten like the seed itself. We see goldenrod, sumach, dogwood, and it appears as though nothing preceded this moment, this forest stands inexplicably before our eyes. This is the way too with social or environmental change. Generations of germination and growth. The fruits may come after the planter has long disappeared. Like a monarch butterfly migrating - it's the generation that begins the journey that makes it possible for the next generation to arrive. I feel a little of this with the...

No need to leave town to see beautiful butterflies and magnificent moths. Free, outdoor, and close to home at the Dundas, Ontario Urquhart Butterfly Garden.  It is easy to get to without a car, you can ride your bike down the Cootes Drive multi-use path or take transit (HSR Dundas #52, Head Street) and get off by the Canadian Tire/Beer Store.

I'm stepping in to fill-in for the injured Wayne Terryberry on this interpretive hike - on the filled-in floodplain of lower Ancaster Creek, formerly Coldspring Valley Nature sanctuary,  currently McMaster Parking Lot M - also the site of a rehabilitation project that has peeled back the asphalt to create a 30 metre riparian zone to separate the cold-water creek from the parking. Lots to see and discuss, and this hike will have a lot more about the natural science of the space with McMaster Biology prof Susan Dudley.

Some interesting approaches to looking at rehabilitating a McMaster parking lot to become a coldwater wetland. I'll be on the panel discussing the historical aspects of the site, with other smarter people, 10am Thursday, October 25, 2018. Two days prior, Patricia Johanson  will be speaking about the way she uses art, site-specific art, to help heal the earth. Should be inspiring. Hope you can make it.

What do all these people have in common? They've taken the guided tour of west campus with Restore Cootes! Be like them and come out Friday at 12:30 PM to tour the remnants of Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary, McMaster Parking Lot M depaved, Ancaster/Coldwater Creek, and other sites of historical and research interest. Register here:  http://bit.ly/waterweekwalk2017

We're heading back out to share the history of this former floodplain/nature sanctuary, and take a look at the rehabilitated future of this contested site in McMaster's west campus. Can we really depave Paradise? It's happening! Register on Eventbrite:  http://bit.ly/waterweekwalk2017  (by donation)

Thinking about the other evening, tabling at Supercrawl. I set up for 6pm, and closed up at 10pm: so that's four (4) hours. Someone with a counter at the front door clicked in 1000 people. So, average 250 people per hour. (It honestly didn't feel like that many, but I have no doubt about the veracity of the reported number). I had 22 people stop and sign the actual pledge. That would average 5 people per hour signing the pledge. What's that, 12 minutes per pledge on average? 22/1000 is: 2.20% So just over 2% of attendees actually stopped and took an action. Maybe that's pretty good? I felt quite happy with the pace and the results. It's something to build on anyway, with almost all those pledgers also agreeing to join our mailing list. Before the event I had nobody on the list, now I am up over 20.

Restore Cootes' founder Randy Kay tabling at Supercrawl Our table inside the dry and warm confines of Evergreen's Collaboration Station Once we packed up, steps away we caught some Pup at Supercrawl Thanks to the wonderful staff and volunteers at the Evergreen (Hamilton) Collaboration Station at 294 James Street North we had a great time tabling and meeting people from Hamilton and beyond here for the annual Supercrawl. 22 people kindly filled-out our Pledge to avoid driving on Cootes Drive in order to give the area turtles a fighting chance at surviving; having a four lane, 80km/h divided highway running directly through prime turtle habitat in the protected Cootes Paradise nature sanctuary has got several species of turtles close to extirpation. It's a terrible place for a road, and daily death for wildlife is a reality as a result. Shout out to Evergreen staff Jay and Allison and the many volunteers for being such generous hosts to so many great ...

Restore Cootes will have an info table at this Friday's Supercrawl , tucked in the warm and welcoming Evergreen Community Collaboration Space at 294 James Street North in Hamilton. We will have Restore Cootes buttons for sale and pledge forms for people who are interested in helping protect at-risk turtles and other species subject to road mortality along Cootes and Olympic Drive in Dundas Ontario. 70% of respondents said they would use an alternative route to protect turtles Together we can make a difference. In an earlier poll , 70% of respondents said they would use an alternative route to protect turtles, and we want to help you do it! A biodiversity hotspot, Cootes Paradise is teeming with all kinds of wildlife. The problem is human activity, namely roads and parking lots , creates a hostile and deadly environment for the marsh inhabitants. I hope you get the chance to drop in and say hello Friday night between sets!

Seven of Ontario's eight turtle species are at risk. Road mortality poses a major threat. Let's talk turtle ecology, conservation and what you can do to help ! Morgan Piezak (McMaster MSc Candidate Biology) and Sarah Richer (RBG) For more info: water@mcmaster.ca Time: Wednesday, August 2, 5:30pm Location: Ye Old Squire 875 Main Street West, Hamilton.  website  

Butterfly and Bird Identification is fun, and something that can be enjoyed by young and old.  Learn all about it on a guided walk led by experienced naturalist Matt Mills on Saturday, July 29th from 11 am to  12 noon at the  Urquhart Butterfly Garden , Centennial Park, Dundas.  The walk will be cancelled if it rains. On the last guided walk participants were lucky enough to see the Buckeye Butterfly which is uncommon in Ontario and a rare visitor to this area.  Lots of other butterflies were nectaring in the sunshine as well. The recent rain has brought out the birds who are nesting in the foliage, and can be seem flitting back and forth to feed their young.  Matt knows them all and will point them out. You are requested to wear a hat and bring a chair. Lots of free parking available, transit stop nearby, and adjacent to the Cootes Drive bicycle path. The Summer Series will be held every Saturday until September 2.  For more informatio...

The free Summer series at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden kicks off on Saturday July 15 with Matt Mills leading a Guided Butterfly & Bird Identification Walk. Matt is an experienced naturalist, with a vast store of knowledge and an engaging manner. Photo: http://bit.ly/2sgeA9G The Garden is humming with life, “I am never disappointed by what I see at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden”, Matt said recently. If there are rare butterflies to be seen Matt will find them, as well as locating all the bird life hiding in the bushes or flitting among the trees. The Guided Walk takes about an hour and begins at 11 am on Saturday, July 15. You are requested to wear a sun hat and bring a chair. “I am never disappointed by what I see at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden” - Matt Mills If it rains the walk will be cancelled. The Summer Programme will be held every Saturday until September 2. The Urquhart Butterfly Garden is located at the end of Centennial Park in Dundas. All ages are...

I've been invited to join a panel discussion “Stories of the ‘More-than-human’ World” on Thursday, February 2, from 3-5pm at the McMaster Centre for Continuing Education. You can register for the event here: http://bit.ly/MoreThanHumanWorld The sponsor of the panel is the Centre for Community Engaged Narrative Arts ( CCENA ) and this is only their second Long Table Gathering of the Year. So, yes, honored to be invited! I'll be excitedly chatting about Lot M/Coldspring Valley with some cool people, and engaging in an open discussion, so I get to learn while I'm there too! Hope you can make it out, and share your experience too! If you ever want a tour, grab 3 friends and I'll set you up to visit the site! dundastard@gmail.com

Having visitors from out of province, never mind bright young engaged members of the national Engineers Without Borders (EWB) group, was a real treat and a great way to show-off the changes at McMaster's parking lot "M". No Parking! The 30m buffer displaced car parking to protect Ancaster Creek The EWB crew arrived by city bus at McMaster and were met by Reyna Matties (McMaster biology) and Randy Kay (Restore Cootes/ OPIRG McMaster ). Hamilton is playing host this weekend to an annual national EWB conference, and the tour of Lot M was one of the field trip options. Reyna and I were very happy with the turnout! Reyna (centre) explains the biology of the riparian zone at Ancaster Creek The group had about an hour, so we did a truncated version of our usual tour. It was cold but we ended up spending the entire time outside, resulting in a few cold toes by the end. We walked the length of "Maria's Walk", the last mostly-intact trail from the Ro...

Poster by Reyna Matties Go back in time to when Parking Lot M was Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary, see the ghosts from the past and see the future as nature comes back as the asphalt retreats. Event informatino: https://goo.gl/vtK8vT

Pollinators Great & Small: Making the Community a Pollinator Haven: Dr. Peter Kevan & Dr. Vernon Thomas, Saturday Aug 29, 11am The Urquhart Butterfly Garden is excited to announce a free workshop held in the Garden, “Pollinators Great & Small: Making the Community a Pollinator Haven” led by pollinator and pollination biology experts Dr. Peter Kevan and Dr. Vernon Thomas. The workshop will take place on Saturday August 29 at 11am. Peter Kevan and Vernon Thomas, accomplished professors from the University of Guelph, will share valuable information about the essential work of pollinators. They will discuss the numerous types of pollinators, their contribution to agriculture, the threats they face, and more. Learn why it is important for the whole community to be committed to pollinator projects, and find out what an individual can do, without even owning a window box! The garden is bustling with pollinators, flyin...

Ghost Hike into West Campus. Part of OPIRG's MAKING CONNECTIONS week Sep 10 2014, 10:00am - 11:30pm (new time 10am-11:30am) Walk back in time and explore the founding of McMaster University in Hamilton, the relationship between McMaster and the Royal Botanical Gardens' properties, Canada's first modern highway, electric railways, pioneer cemeteries, lost ponds, and "ghost" trails. This roughly one hour walk through west campus will also focus on changes to the parking area to create a naturalized buffer between the asphalt lots and the beautiful Ancaster/Coldspring Creek that passes through McMaster's property. There is no cost for this popular hike, bring a friend and explore the campus in a new way. Your guide is Randy Kay of community group RESTORE COOTES Meet at the OPIRG Office in room 229 McMaster University Student Centre. OPIRG welcomes all to participate in this event, if you require an accommodation to make this event more acces...