Environmental Stewardship, Garbage Limits

OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO LIVE AND WORK IN MUSKOKA

STEWARDSHIP OF OUR AMAZING TOWN AND REGION - KEEPING TOURISM THRIVING - DEPENDS ON HOW SERIOUSLY WE TAKE OUR STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

     EVERY SQUIRREL HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW IS CALLED "SEYMOUR." SINCE WE ARRIVED AT BIRCH HOLLOW, I STARTED CALLING ONE, THEN TWO, THEN GENERATIONS OF SQUIRRELS RESIDING HERE, "SEYMOUR" AS WELL. JUST A SILLY HABIT AND WE ALL DO THE SAME THING, AND NOW THAT WE HAVE ABOUT SIX SQUIRRELS, WE CALL OUT THEIR NAMES VERY OFTEN. WE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH NEIGHBORS IN THE PAST, WHO HAD A PROFOUND DISLIKE FOR THE LITTLE CRITTERS. I'VE ALWAYS TAKEN ASSAULTS ON OUR SQUIRRELS RATHER PERSONALLY, AS WE PROVIDE THEM WITH SANCTUARY. WE'VE NEVER BEEN OVER-TAKEN HERE, BECAUSE OF THE POPULATION OF SQUIRRELS, AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE FIRST YEAR IN TWENTY-TWO YEARS THAT I'VE COUNTED SIX THAT LIVE IN AND AROUND OUR HOMESTEAD. THE BOG IS THEIR SANCTUARY, FOR SURE. YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, THE NUMBER OF ACTIVE AND HEALTHY "SEYMOURS," DROPPED BY ONE, AS A LITTLE FELLOW WAS STRUCK BY A CAR AT THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY. I'VE NEVER RUN OVER A SQUIRREL BEFORE, BUT I HAVE HIT CHIPMUNKS, WHICH ALWAYS MAKES FEEL CRAPPY. I UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE SQUIRRELS. TO ME, THIS IS THEIR ENVIRONS, AND I'M JUST A GUEST. SO UNLESS ONE DAY, I AWAKEN, TO FIND THREE OR FOUR SQUIRRELS IN MY CHAIR IN THE LIVINGROOM, I'M JUST GOING TO LIVE WITH THEM, AS THEY HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH US. I CALL THEM SEYMOUR, AND THEY PROBABLY, IN A SQUIRREL DIALECT, REFER TO ME AS THE OLD FART. I'M GOOD WITH THAT. I'M JUST SORRY WE LOST A SEYMOUR YESTERDAY. POOR LITTLE BUGGER. HE WAS FAST BUT NOT FAST ENOUGH TO BEAT THE SPEEDING AUTOS ON OUR ROAD.

     AS I WAS WAITING TO DRIVE SUZANNE TO WORK, I STOOD OUT ON THE NARROW FRONT LAWN, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AND WAS REGALED BY BIRD CALLS FROM ALL AROUND ME. OVER IN THE BOG, IN THE FLOURISHING MAPLES IN OUR SIDEYARD, IN THE UPPER BRANCHES OF THE VENERABLE BIRCH TREE IN THE BACK, JOINED BY THE CAWING OF OVERSEEING CROWS IN TWO TOWERING PINES. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF MY NEIGHBORS WOULD STOP AND LISTEN TO THIS INCREDIBLE CHORUS, AND LOOK UPON THE BOG AS A SANCTUARY. I KNOW A FEW DO, AND STANDING OUTSIDE, LISTENING TO IT ALL, ISN'T AS RARE AN OCCASION AROUND THE CALYDOR BALLYWICK…….WHERE WE REALIZE HOW HARD IT WAS TO KEEP OUR WETLAND SAFE FROM DEVELOPMENT BULLDOZERS. I WORRY MOST, I GUESS, ABOUT THE FACT SO MANY YOUNGSTERS WALK BY THESE SAME WOODLANDS, AND IGNORE ALL THE GRANDEUR WITHIN. I SEE THEM USING THEIR CELL PHONES, TEXTING, OR LISTENING TO MUSIC WITH HEADPHONES ON, WHICH OF COURSE, MUTES WHATEVER MESSAGE NATURE IS SENDING. I'M NOT SURE, THAT EVEN IF A MOOSE PRESENTED ITSELF (AS IT HAS, AND ON MY LAWN), WHETHER OR NOT THESE SAME YOUNGSTERS WOULD REACT AT ALL, OR FIND THE INTRUSION VERY ANNOYING, TO THE ENJOYMENT OF EITHER COMMUNICATION, OR THEIR CHOICE OF MUSIC. I'VE WATCHED THESE SAME SCHOOL KIDS WALKING IN STORM CONDITIONS, NOT HEARING THE THUNDER. THE LIGHTNING STRIKE DOESN'T TAP YOU ON THE SHOULDER AS A WARNING, BEFORE IT WARMS THE COCKLES OF YOUR HEART.

    THIS IS THE GENERATION I'M MOST WORRIED ABOUT, BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE THEY ARE GETTING THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION THEY NEED, AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS IS EVEN POSSIBLE. IF YOU LIVE IN MUSKOKA, ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN RECREATION HINTERLANDS IN ONTARIO, HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY BE THE CASE, NATURE MEANS SO LITTLE IN THE DAY TO DAY LIVES OF THESE PUBLIC SCHOOL YOUNGSTERS? IN MY VINTAGE, RECREATION CAME WITH A BASEBALL GLOVE, BALL AND BAT, IN THE SPRING, A FOOTBALL IN THE SUMMER AND FALL, AND A HOCKEY STICK AND BALL (PUCK), WHEN HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA COVERAGE BEGAN IN LATE OCTOBER EACH YEAR. WE NEEDED A LITTLE PATCH OF OPEN FIELD, AND A LIGHTLY TRAVELED LENGTH OF ASPHALT TO ENJOY INEXPENSIVE RECREATION. NONE OF US HAD MUCH MONEY TO GET EXTRAVAGANT. ALL OUR EQUIPMENT WAS CHEAPLY ACQUIRED, AND USED OVER MANY SEASONS. MOST OF OUR HOCKEY STICKS WERE SCAVENGED FROM THE ARENA, WHEN PLAYERS DISCARDED SLIGHTLY BROKEN ONES OVER THE BOARDS, DURING SENIOR HOCKEY GAMES. WE CALLED THEM "SLIVER" STICKS, BECAUSE THAT WAS WHAT THE BLADE LOOKED LIKE. THEY WERE FINE FOR ROAD HOCKEY. I DIGRESS, AS USUAL. POINT IS, THE MONEY IS FAR MORE AVAILABLE TODAY, AND THE TECHNOLOGY TO PLAY WITH, IS APPARENTLY SO MUCH BETTER THAN BASEBALL, FOOTBALL OR HOCKEY OUT OF DOORS.

     THE BIG ISSUE, THAT OVER-RIDES A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITY CONCERNS I HAVE, IS THAT THIS APATHY FOR NATURE WILL HURT US DOWN THE ROAD. FOR A REGION THAT HAS THE YEARLY OUTDOOR CENTRE, IN HUNTSVILLE, A HUGE AND DYNAMIC EDUCATION FACILITY, WE SHOULD HAVE EAGER-BEAVER KIDS, HIKING ALL OVER THIS BOGLAND ON THEIR FREE TIME. AS A KID, I HAD MUCH SMALLER GREEN BELTS TO PURSUE OUTDOOR ADVENTURES, AS COMPARED TO THIS DIVERSE AND INTERESTING WETLAND HABITAT. WHEN WE HAD TO SAVE THE PROPERTY FROM DEVELOPMENT, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, OF COURSE THE PROPERTY OWNERS WENT TO BAT TO CONSERVE THE WILD AREA. IT IS AN IMPORTANT FILTERING BED FOR A HUGE AMOUNT OF TOWN RUN-OFF, BEFORE IT DRAINS INTO MUSKOKA BAY, OF THE WIDER LAKE MUSKOKA. WE WORKED HARD TO PROTECT THIS AREA, BECAUSE FOR MANY OF US, IT'S WHY WE BUILT AND PURCHASED HOMES HERE. WE WANTED TO RISE EACH MORNING, OVER THE FOUR SEASONS, AND BE ABLE TO STAND OUT ON OUR YARDS, AND HEAR THIS LIFE-ENHANCING BIRDSONG IN THE TREE TOPS. IT WAS TO STEP OUT IN THE LATE EVENING, AND SEE THE DEER AT THE EDGE OF THE WOODS, AS IF A ROBERT FROST POEM HAD SUDDENLY COME TO LIFE. WE WERE THRILLED TO SEE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CRITTERS, FROM RABBITS TO RACCOONS; SEVERAL BEAR, THE OCCASIONAL MOOSE, GROUNDHOGS, PORCUPINES, CHIPMUNKS, SQUIRRELS AND A FEW MUSKRATS LIVING NEAR THE CULVERT ACROSS THE ROAD. MOST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO LOOK OUT ONE MORNING, LIKE THE SOJOURN TODAY, AND SEE A COUPLE OF OUR LOCAL KIDS, STANDING STILL, FOR JUST A MOMENT, LISTENING TO THE BIRDS IN THE TREE TOPS, AND THE SOUND OF ALL KINDS OF CREATURES, BRUSHING THE SPRING GRASSES, ON THEIR JOURNEY FROM HERE TO THERE AND BACK. WHAT A DELIGHT IT WOULD BE, IF THEY WOULD STOP TEXTING LONG ENOUGH, TO BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH THE CALL OF A CROW FROM A BLUE JAY….OR FIND A WOODPECKER A NOVEL CREATURE, WORTH A FEW SECONDS OF TIME TO OBSERVE.

     I REMEMBER ONE FALL MORNING, LOOKING OUT OVER THE BOG AND SEEING SEVERAL OF THE LOCAL KIDS PLAYING IN THE WOODS. WE HAVE A GOOD VANTAGE POINT, WITH A LITTLE ELEVATION, THAT ALLOWS US A PICTURESQUE VIEW ACROSS THE EXPANSE OF THE WETLAND. THE TWO LADS WERE WORKING FEVERISHLY, MOVING OLD LOGS AND CLEARING A PATH WHICH I ASSUMED WAS TO FACILITATE SOME GAME OR MAYBE EVEN A CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING RACE. IT WAS JUST NICE TO SEE THEM OVER IN THE UPPER WOODED STRIP, ABOVE THE BOG, WHERE OUR KIDS USED TO PLAY, MANY YEARS AGO NOW. BOY OH BOY, THE ADVENTURES THEY USED TO HAVE IN THOSE MISTY WOODLANDS.

     LATER I WAS OUT AT THE CAR, PREPARING FOR ONE OF OUR ANTIQUE ROAD TRIPS, AND I HAPPENED TO LOOK OVER AT A NEIGHBOR'S DRIVEWAY, AND THE SMALL ENGINE THAT WAS SNAP, CRACKING AND POPPING. DIDN'T SOUND QUITE RIGHT, AND THAT EXPLAINED THE HUDDLE OF INTERESTED PARTIES, TRYING TO TWEAK THE ENGINE'S OPERATION, I ASSUMED, DOWN TO A DULL ROAR. IT WAS AN ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE. A SMALL ONE. THEN I LOOKED BACK OVER TO THE WOODS, AND THE CLEARED PATHS NOW MADE SENSE. IT WAS AN ATV COURSE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK. SUZANNE WAS WATCHING THE SAME ACTIVITY, AND EVEN BEFORE I COULD SAY A WORD, SHE SAID, "WELL, TED, YOU WANT THE KIDS TO PLAY IN THE WOODS!" I JUST NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT A MOTORIZED VEHICLE CRUNCHING DOWN ALL THE PLEASANT LITTLE FERNS AND ADAPTED BOGLAND VEGETATION. THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND I HAD, ON THAT DAY, AND FOR MANY DAYS LATER, WAS THAT IT WAS OCCURRING IN THE AUTUMN BEFORE THE SNOW, AND NO NEW GROWTH WAS AT RISK. THERE IS A MAGNIFICENT AREA OF FERNS ONE OTHER LOCAL GENTLEMAN NEARLY DESTROYED, DRIVING HIS ATV OVER IT, IN ORDER TO DUMP THE REMAINDERS OF A FELLED-TREE FROM HIS YARD. UNTIL THAT IS, HE MET ME FACE TO FACE. THE OPERATION OF DUMPING INTO THE BOG WAS UNCEREMONIOUSLY HALTED. ALTHOUGH HE POINTED OUT TO ME, WITH A DIRECTIONAL FINGER, THAT ALL THE DEBRIS WAS NATURAL, I HAPPENED TO BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE REFUSE, TO BE ABLE TO PICK OUT TWO PLASTIC CONTAINERS THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN FIFTY YEARS TO REDUCE TO PARTICLES. "I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE IN THERE," HE SAID. SO I BENT OVER, AND GOT HIM THE OTHER HALF DOZEN PIECES OF HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE, HE HAD ALSO MISTAKENLY INCLUDED WITH THE WOOD PIECES. IT WAS THE LAST TIME WE CROSSED PATHS IN THIS ENCHANTED FOREST.

     THERE IS A LACK OF RESPECT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL PLACES, AND CONSERVATION, AND IT IS THE FAULT OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM. THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, AND THIS WILL BE COMPOUNDED IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE OF THE GROWING INDIFFERENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WE SEE HAPPENING NOW, WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. IT BECOMES AN EVEN GREATER RESPONSIBILITY FOR MUNICIPALITIES, TO PROTECT THE RESOURCES THEY DO POSSESS, BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT'S INHERENT WORTH, TO OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO JOINED US, TO CHALLENGE A TOWN INITIATIVE TO SELL AND DEVELOP THE WETLAND, REPRESENTED NOT ONLY RATEPAYERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT FROM THE GREATER GRAVENHURST RATEPAYER'S ASSOCIATION ITSELF, THE MUSKOKA BAY ASSOCIATION, AND INTERESTED FOLKS ALL AROUND THE COMMUNITY, WHO FELT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. LOOK AFTER THE WILD, GREEN PLACES WE STILL POSSESS. THIS IS WHAT AMAZED US. HOW MANY RESIDENTS FROM MANY NEIGHBORHOODS AWAY, WHO BANDED TOGETHER AND OFFERED TO HELP WHERE THEY COULD, INCLUDING GIVING US FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR A POTENTIAL COURT CHALLENGE. WHEN I WROTE THEN, ABOUT THE SUPPORT WE HAD RECEIVED, AND CONVEYED THIS TO THE TOWN, THEY REALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA, HOW BADLY IT COULD HAVE TURNED OUT FOR THEM, IF WE WERE FORCED TO TAKE THE MATTER TO COURT. FORTUNATELY, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TRYING TO PROVE THE WORTH OF ALL THAT I SEE TODAY, OUT THIS WINDOW OF MY OFFICE. COUNCILLORS CHANGED THEIR MINDS. A FEW WHO HADN'T SEEN THE WETLAND BEFORE, CAME TO VISIT, AT THE PEAK OF THE SUMMER GROWTH, AND EACH SAW SOMETHING SPECTACULAR FOR AN URBAN WETLAND, THEY HAD ASSUMED PREVIOUSLY WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A WASTELAND. SOME COUNCILLORS DIDN'T VISIT, YET THEY WERE WILLING TO VOTE FOR ITS EXTINCTION.

     WE HAVE SUCH URGENCY TO GET THIS NEW GENERATION UP-TO-SPEED, ABOUT THE CRISIS WE HAVE CREATED FOR THEM. IF THIS BEAUTIFUL OPEN SPACE, IN AN URBAN ENVIRONS, GETS SO LITTLE NOTICE, ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS, EVEN FROM MANY OF THE ADULTS WHO THINK OF IT AS "PRETTY" AND NOT MUCH MORE, THEN HOW ON EARTH WILL IT BE SPARED THE NEXT TIME A DEVELOPER, GETS THE IDEA TO STICK CONDOS ONTO THE "HABITAT" WE STILL LUCKILY POSSESS? YOU'D THINK WITH ALL THE CRISIS ISSUES WE'RE FACING WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES OF POLUTION, THERE WOULD BE AN EDUCATION SYSTEM RESPONDING WITH VIGOR, TO MEET THE NEW REALITIES. WILL THERE BE A SENSIBLE REFLEX OF EDUCATION, INSTRUCTING THE YOUNG GENERATION IN THE ART OF SURVIVING WITH LESS OF NATURE, AND MORE EXCESSES OF MANKIND? GREEN ZONES LIKE THE ONE ACROSS THE ROAD, MAY STILL BE A SUITABLE HABITAT FOR THE CREATURES OF THE EARTH, IN THE FUTURE, IF IT HAS ITS ARDENT PROTECTORS. IF THOSE WHO PASS THIS PLACE TODAY, WITHOUT MUCH CARE ABOUT TREES AND BULLRUSHES, DON'T EXERT THEMSELVES IN ITS DEFENSE, IT WILL BE BUILT-UPON IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE. WHERE WILL ALL THE "SEYMOURS" GO? WHO CARES, RIGHT? THEN I VERY MUCH BELIEVE WE WILL SUFFER THROUGH THE NIGHTMARE SCENARIO, OF A SLOW, PROGRESSIVE DECLINE, OF ALL QUALITY OF LIFE. IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE THIS, WHILE STANDING IN THE MIDST OF SUCH AMAZING LIFE-FORCE, THAT SHOULD MAKE EVERY VOYEUR FEEL EMPOWERED AND VIBRANT IN SOUL. TO THE DEVELOPMENT INTEREST, IT IS PROPERTY FOR EXPLOITATION, AND SOONER OR LATER, ITS OLD GUARD WILL FALTER, AND LEAVE IT VULNERABLE FOR THE CITY-BUILDERS TO DESTROY.

     I MADE THIS THE SUBJECT OF A PRESENTATION I GAVE, DURING THE PLANNING STAGES FOR A MAJOR MUSKOKA RESORT. I WAS THERE TO TALK ABOUT MUSKOKA HISTORY. I CHEATED. I DEVIATED TO CREATE A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE HERITAGE OF THE HINTERLAND INSTEAD. I WAS STARING OUT AT AN AUDIENCE OF THE BRIGHTEST AND MOST AMBITIOUS YOUNG PLANNERS AND ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS AND PUBLICISTS, WHO WOULD BE DRIVING THIS PROJECT FROM THE PLANNING STAGE, TO THE SPRAWLING, LUXURIOUS, LAKESIDE END-RESULT. WITHOUT SHAME, I BATTERED THEM ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING CONSERVATION MINDED FROM THE GET-GO, SUGGESTING THAT BEING THE LEAST-INTRUSIVE, TO THE NATURE OF THE ACREAGE, WITH THE MASSIVE ENTERPRISE, WOULD BE VIEWED KINDLY BY THE WORRIED LOCAL POPULATION…..WHO HAPPEN, LIKE ME, TO ENJOY THE CREATURE COMFORTS OF A LUSH WOODLAND, AND THRIVING WETLAND. THE FOLKS I HAD BEEN TALKING TO, HAD JUST COME FROM URBAN AREAS ALL OVER CANADA. THEY HAD BEEN IN BUSY AIRPORTS, VIBRATED FOR HOURS ON HUGE AIRCRAFT, SHUTTLED FROM OFFICE TO WORK SITE IN A FLEET OF AUTOMOBILES, AND BEFORE MY LECTURE, HAD ONLY TIME FOR A BATHROOM VISIT, AND A CUP OF COFFEE. HERE I WAS TELLING THEM, ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVING AS MUCH GREEN SPACE AS POSSIBLE, TO FIT INTO THE CHARACTER OF OUR HINTERLAND REGION. WHAT KIND OF INFLUENCE COULD I IMPOSE UPON THESE JET-SETTING DEVELOPMENT-PLAYERS, ON CONTRACT TO BUILD A LUXURY RESORT? AT THE CONCLUSION, I DID HAVE A SENIOR MUSKOKA PLANNER COME TO TALK WITH ME, WITH COOKIE IN MOUTH, AND COFFEE SLURPING IN MY EAR, TO OFFER THANKS FOR SUCH AN UPLIFTING PRESENTATION. BUT I KNEW THAT WHAT SHE WAS SAYING, IN A FEW AUDIBLE WORDS, WAS THAT "WE COULD USE A WORDSMITH LIKE YOU TO SELL THIS PROJECT TO THE PUBLIC."

     NO ONE, THAT I KNOW OF, SAW ME SLIP OUT OF THE BUILDING, GET INTO MY CAR, AND BEAT A HASTY RETREAT. THEY WERE KIND AND HOSPITABLE HOSTS, DURING THAT MORNING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT, AND THE LAST THING I WANTED TO DO, WAS TO APPEAR RUDE, SAYING SOMETHING NASTY ABOUT DEVELOPERS INTENDING TO MOW DOWN FORESTS LIKE FRONT-LAWN GRASS. THE GOOD NEWS, FOR ME, WAS THAT THE RESORT WENT AHEAD, AND HAS BECOME QUITE SUCCESSFUL, AND HAD, TO MY DELIGHT, INCORPORATE THE NATURAL SURROUNDINGS INTO THE TOTAL LUXURY OFFERED BY THE LAKESIDE ATTRACTION. I DON'T SUSPECT I HAD MUCH INFLUENCE THAT DAY. THEY NEVER CALLED UPON ME AGAIN, SO I ASSUMED THEY'D HAD ENOUGH OF MY SERMON ABOUT CONSERVATION. I'D LIKE TO THINK THEY DID FEEL IT INCUMBENT, AS NEW STAKE-HOLDERS IN OUR REGION, TO LOOK AFTER OUR NATURAL RESOURCES, AND FROM EVERYTHING I'VE HEARD SINCE IT WAS OPENED, THIS IS VERY MUCH THE CASE. I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T FOLLOWED-IT UP, BUT I THINK THE NEIGHBORS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT TRANSPIRED ON THE PROPERTY. THIS HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE IN MUSKOKA.

     THESE KIDS IN OUR NEIGHBORBOOD, MAY EVENTUALLY GO ON TO BECOME ARCHITECTS, PLANNERS AND RESORT DEVELOPERS THEMSELVES, AND CONSIDERING I PROBABLY WON'T GET THE SAME CHANCE TO LECTURE THEM, BEFORE THE SOD IS TURNED, HOW CONCERNED ARE THEY GOING TO BE, ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT STANDING IN THEIR WAY? WHAT IF SEVERAL BECOME POLITICIANS, OR LOCAL COUNCILLORS, AND THEY ARE FACED WITH THE ISSUE OF CONSERVATION VERSUS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? THE SAFEGUARDS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL WELL BEING, AND FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES, PROBABLY WON'T BE THEIR PRIORITIES EITHER. SO WHO IS GOING TO SAVE US FROM OURSELVES?

     

NATURE FROM THE BEGINNING OF MUSKOKA SETTLEMENT WAS SEEN WITH GREAT AWE WITH THE ALLURE OF ADVENTURE

     As I have had the privilege of reading most, if not all, of the earliest Muskoka related history books, and chapters in travel guides of the period, I can tell you that the descriptions of our home region, are more than just compelling and alluring to the adventurous. It's most certainly the case, much of the written material, was part of the new vested interest, that had set about to brazenly exploit our district of the best settlement land, being offered to brave souls by the federal and provincial governance. But there are descriptions of Muskoka that are still identifiable with places we knew in our youth, or amazingly, can still find conserved after all these years. They are descriptions that border on the poetic, and some observations are written as poems, to reflect just how hauntingly stirring our region presented itself, on their forays of immersion and discovery. I could write a thousand blogs containing these early references, to the magnificent natural surroundings, and wonders of all nature thriving within the lakeland. Most regional historians ignore these descriptions, to concentrate on more intimate matters of settlement construction, and the civilizing of the wilds. What use are these descriptions of the "picturesque," and the "haunting beauty," when the real history was the making-inroads, making-money issues of hamlet building…..village aspirations, and town realizations. I find very few of my colleagues willing to spend much time at all, in the fanciful domain of poets and artists, who felt that paradise incorporated those beautiful God given creations, of leaning birches and stately pines, and the rhythmic lapping of waves against a rocky shoreline, below an azure sky. And that a passing canoe, is only romantic and worth mentioning, if its background is wild and mysterious. A house or hotel is enchanted because of the company it keeps, of forest and the mists that waft over its pine-needle floor, on cool autumn mornings. The poem recited to a lover, becomes entrancingly significant, when there is a trickling brook, and a foaming cataract wrapped around its mortal interlopers. Nature is the theatre we have used, and unfortunately abused.

     I come upon so many people in my travels, who have no idea just how important the natural qualities and quantities of Muskoka's environment, have been to its development and economy since the first settlers hacked away homesteads, from the late 1850's. If they knew what I did, about this history of our early civilization here, they might give somewhat more regard to how this backdrop of nature is still working on our behalf, to enhance our tourist and recreational economy; just as it did when tourism got its start with those sportsmen of the 1850's onward, who said and wrote such encouraging observations about the nature of Muskoka. By the 1890's Muskoka's natural assets were known to travelers around the world, as a healthful retreat, with clean water, good air and favorable climate for what ailed you. It was the reason so many sanatoriums set up, especially in South Muskoka, to take advantage of the healing climate, and solitude that was good for the soul. The poets and artists found Muskoka favorable, and the photographers made lots of money, taking images of sportsmen and women with their catch of fish, strung as trophies behind their group celebrations, against the pinery forest and sparkling waterways. Muskoka was the perfect staging for a trillion images, of the good life in the Canadian wilds.

     Muskoka has been exploited since the beginning. Recklessly at times. There are many shameful examples, where creatures here were slaughtered in large quantity, to satisfy the egos of Victorian hunters  and anglers. There have been abuses that would make most of us today wretch, at what was dumped unceremoniously in our lakes, from raw sewage and chemicals, to every type and style of appliance. There are some lakes, where the bottom looks like a submerged appliance warehouse. Rowboats and scows were loaded full of refuse of every level of contamination, and tossed overboard. In the woods, and adjacent to thriving pastures, and cultivated fields, were homestead dumpsites, where additionally, every kind of contaminate known to man, at the time, was dumped into the soil, so that the ground water would carry the pollutants in liquid form, down into nearby wells, and into the same soil that was producing food for the old harvest table. I used to dig for old bottles in these long grown-over dump sites, and I found a lot of items that should never have been disposed of, so casually, and near to the farm house. Batteries come to mind. I can remember being at an old boat house, on Lake Rosseau, on afternoon, and asking the owner what the debris was on the bottom, just below the swimming dock. "They're just old boat engine batteries," she said, obviously from the many watercraft the family had owned over the past century. "But the kids are swimming here," I answered. "Aren't you concerned about the quality of water?" "There's nothing left of them now," she replied with some confidence (yet no proof), the batteries couldn't hurt the present water quality. The cottage water intake was only about thirty feet away. But this is what was done in the past, and the offending items are still, in some cases, continuing to erode nasty chemicals into the lakes and rivers.

     I remember a story our newspaper office was working on, during the Wharf Road re-construction, in Bracebridge, back in the early 1980's, and the new sewer installations to service a few homes and businesses, one being the rock-side power house below the falls. One of the employees at the time, made a comment to one of our reporters, that the sewer installation was a good thing for the water quality in the bay. When the reporter carried on the questioning, sensing there was more to the story, the chap said something like, "Now we won't see the turds flipping end over end in the rapids." When he pressed the issue, believing it to mean the toilets in the vicinity, including the power house, had been dumping sewage right into the river, the interview ended abruptly, the employee sensing he had said too much. We didn't run with the story because we couldn't get confirmation if this was true or not. It is true in other parts of our country, as hard as this is to believe. From toilet to lake or river.

     We were on another story, and had an opportunity to accompany an employee of the Ministry of the Environment, checking out the quality of local waterfront sewage systems. The subject property was a major business operation, with a lot of history attached. A tablet with dye (not sure whether it may have been in liquid form) was flushed down the toilet, and within a short span of time, the color released by the tablet was in considerable evidence out in the lake. This was quite a while ago, and I know a tremendous number of improvements have been made to septic systems since, but you always suspect regardless, that there are a few still malfunctioning out there, putting raw sewage in the waterways of Muskoka.

     The latest debate at the District level of government, is one of the more interesting situations I've watched manifest in this region, since I was editor of The Herald-Gazette, in Bracebridge, back in the 1980's. I've always wondered when this day would come, that District staff and our local regional politicians, would try to help the environment by restricting the number of allowable garbage bags each week. With no regard for everything I have written in the paragraphs above. These ill-informed folks, make their plans, and impose their restrictions, as if they can, by the snap of a finger, reduce the output of garbage from our residents…..participating in this consumer-driven society that has as collateral damage……the creation of vast amounts of eventual garbage. So these staff and councillors forget that they are not in another part of Ontario. They forget that they are representing us in a region, that by its nature, is our economy. While it is nasty looking to find garbage dumped in parkland and vacant lots in the cities of Southern Ontario, if the same was to occur in this tourist mecca, it would be the same as pissing into a strong wind! Our leadership, in attempting to do the right thing, to reduce garbage at our landfill sites, thinks its the correct plan to simply restrict how much garbage gets put out for collection. Not stopping-up the over indulgences of consumers…..because that would hurt the economy, right? Here's an example where a history lesson would be appropriate. If nature is our meal ticket, and tourism is our number one industry……and for the foreseeable future, what is the inherent risk of, in this case, peeing with regularity, in the proverbial wind. There is already a huge off-site dumping problem in this region, to avoid tipping fees at the landfill locations. Private property owners especially, in the rural areas, of the respective towns and townships, have to haul the garbage away at their own expense. Does this factor into the decision making process? Have you ever seen the door-fronts of the local Salvation Army Thrift Shops at the end of a weekend. A large quantity of these refuse donations, have to be hauled away at the Thrift Shop's expense, because the items are strictly speaking, too damaged and soiled to sell. These items would likely have been dumped somewhere else, if not for the convenience of these shops. If you won't donate during store hours, and you defy the warning signs posted on the buildings, then you're just trying to avoid the disposal charges, or beat the bag limit at curbside. It's a crappy type of benevolence.

     On our regular travels throughout South Muskoka, along the country roads, it's not hard to find the latest convenient and unofficial dump-site. Garbage bags tossed into the ditches and the fern cover without, I'm sure, the slightest reservation of perpetrators. Property owners, as retaliation, will go through the bags to find any personal information, from the person who dumped the trash. The smarter of the lot, hide their identities, so the refuse has to be hauled to the landfill site, at the property owner's expense. I have seen stoves and refrigerators dumped along Muskoka Beach Road, and at least twice a week, you can find a bag that has been tossed out of a moving car or truck. These aren't fast food restaurant cast-offs. Full bags of garbage. So now District wants to make it harder to dispose of household and cottage garbage, and apparently sees nothing particularly precarious about opening the countryside as one big dump site.

    It's the routine of regional governments, to empower themselves with the latest reports and provincially driven initiatives, and one hell of a lot of office-generated studies. They can cite them, remark about their contents, use them to shore-up an initiative, defend a policy, or straighten up a wobbly table-leg. What looks reasonable in print, and sound plausible, in a hubris-filled council chamber debate, doesn't always translate as safely and securely in real life situations. Our roadsides and open spaces are perfect for dumping, and beating a hasty retreat. It means to most of us folks, who live with eyes-wide-open, that it is a potential catastrophe to our regional way of life, and economy, to have a garbage bag limitations imposed haphazardly.  Without an enormous amount of real-life experiences to draw from. The reports don't paint an accurate picture of what strewn bags of ripped-apart garbage, look like in our forests and in the roadside ditches. What may be good policy somewhere else, isn't smart or environmentally secure business here, in an area where the number one business is tourism. It's not manufacturing. And it not industrial, and it doesn't matter how many arguments you might muster to the contrary, our economy depends on good and clean looks. We've got to much open space to stop indiscriminate garbage dumping. For every action, there is an opposite reaction. If only our law-makers and civil servants could understand the vulnerability they would be creating. For some reason, when we tell them these stories, they don't seem to understand how something like indiscriminate dumping, manifests from the evil heart. If it's not in the reports and studies, it can't possibly occur. 

     For District Councillors to screw around with this issue, they also need to be held accountable. Will they be available, to roam the countryside, in their respective modes of transportation, cleaning up the garbage thrown into ditches and on private property. Yea, like there's a chance of that happening. Sitting around a comfortable table, in nice chairs, basking in a climate controlled environment, isn't always the best place to make decisions……. like this proposed tougher restriction on garbage. You have to be down in those water and garbage-filled ditches, hauling out the chicken carcasses, bones, and a trillion other items that can make it into a green garbage bag. Then there are the automotive relics, also dumped at roadside. Appliances, certainly. The law-makers should do the rounds, in advance of making this decision, and sample the local fare. Maybe someone took a picture, of the incredible piles of garbage that made it every week, into bins at the Muskoka Beach Road, and Enis Bay intersection. There are garbage containers placed near the intersection, from the fall until the spring. The garbage isn't just from the cottage road residents. There are people who drive from the urban areas of Bracebridge and Gravenhurst to dump their household garbage. It's free. They could take it to the landfill site, but they suspect it will cost them by the pound to dispose. At the landfill sites, three bags per week are free. I visit frequently.

     Before they start making these kind of changes, that could seriously affect the environment, it would be so fundamentally responsible, to look at worse case scenarios, and how, as a region, we have so heavily, (and for so long), counted on the natural surroundings, to stimulate our economy. The folks who vote in favor of limiting the bags of garbage, or imposing a tagging system, are those who really do think we have a seriously diversified economy in Muskoka, and who would argue that tourism isn't as important as it used to be. This is their unfortunate delusion. We can't allow poorly informed councillors, to make these kinds of decisions, based on what their staff tells them will work. They have to get out into the region they represent, and see the dumping problem for what it is……not what the reports define simply as the challenges of "living in Muskoka." The disconnect with our politicians is hurting us all, and I don't know if the One Government strategy would make things better or not. I'm starting to shift my position in their favor. If they could be more insightful and connected to the real world, than those who are representing us today, I'd carry their placards in support.

     Thanks so much for joining today's blog. You're welcome to visit any time.

      Just a little sidebar. I went to go out the back door a few moments ago, and found three chickens on the walkway. No kidding. Dinner. Somebody is raising chickens in our urban neighborhood and sharing them with all of us……who I suppose, approve of this free range thing. Are they mine now? Finders keepers?  The cats are going nuts in here, so I've got to do something about this, before they break through the glass door.