He Was Supposed to Live Forever - And He Will

You can read more about Pete Seeger on the Pete Seeger Appreciation Page website.

South March Highlands Mountain Bikers - Unlikely Trail Heroes

Unlikely, because more often than not the stereotypical view of mountain bikers is more likely to be as trail villains rather than trail heroes.

First, we have the well meaning but uninformed view of many who call themselves environmentalists that mountain biking damages trails, when the vast majority of the research indicates the impact is similar to hiking.

Then, we have perceived concerns of hikers envisioning people on scary looking full suspension mountain bikes, ignoring everyone else, speeding downhill towards them, when the reality is that mountain biking is not the Tour De France and mountain bikers on technical singletrack are usually not riding at racing speeds, primarily for their own safety.

And then we do have places where rogue mountain bikers rule and have little regard for other trail users or responsible trail use, but these are the real exceptions, even if they appear to be the stereotypical rule.

In the South March Highlands the mountain bikers are not seen as villains. This is partly due to a co-operative landowner, the City of Ottawa, and an open-minded and educated environmental community led by the South March Highlands Coalition.

However it is mostly because of the mountain bikers themselves and the leadership provided by the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA).

The mountain bikers in the South March Highlands have established a reputation for not only be respectful, courteous and friendly to other trail users but are respected and appreciated by them for the literally thousands of hours of work put into developing and maintaining a sustainable trail system that can be enjoyed by all trail users.

The mountain bikers started riding on existing trails, created by hikers, cross-country skiers and even dog-sledders and built on it, creating a sustainable trail system based on the IMBA stacked loop model where the further you get from the trailhead the more rugged and difficult the trails become. This is a model that serves both beginner and advanced hikers and mountain bikers well.

The mountain bikers put in literally thousands of hours of work on trail building and maintenance creating a sustainable trail system that avoids muddy areas and provides for proper drainage and erosion protection. As well as building a system that is less susceptible to rain damage they also educate and encourage riders not to ride in the mud, and when it is necessary to follow the rule of sticking to the middle of the trail to avoid trail widening.

But they have not done this in isolation from the community and other trail users but have worked with them and the landowner, the City of Ottawa, to develop a management plan for the South March Highlands Conservation Forest and the trail system and are about to sign a joint stewardship agreement with they City to manage the trail system.

They have already created a new map of the trail system and are just beginning to install comprehensive trail signs linked to it in a project where materials are funded by the City and volunteer labour provided by OMBA members. This is a project that will be appreciated by the whole community as this is a near wilderness trail system where people have often become lost on the trails.

Indeed, if you ask just about anyone you see on the trails you will find that in the South March Highlands the mountain bikers are not the villains, but rather the heroes that do so much to make the trails a wonderful experience for everyone that uses them.

Solving Urbandale's Beaver Pond Forest Subdivision Marketing Dilemma

The normal method of promoting house sales by telling buyers their houses will be close to the wilderness of the South March Highlands probably isn't going to work for Urbandale, because reminding potential buyers that they just clear cut the Beaver Pond Forest is probably not their best marketing strategy.

So I am going to try to put myself into Urbandale's mindspace. One thing they have got to be thinking right now is why does Bill Teron dare criticize them and why is he still a hero and they the villains. After all, it was Bill Teron who, as a developer, assembled the land for development and sold it to Campeau, who sold it to Genstar who sold it to them. And they have a good point.

BUT, they also have to realize that when they acquired the land they also inherited the responsibility for all the actions that got the land to the point it is in the development process, and that includes the bullying and blackmailing that led to the meaningless 40% agreement, which leaves very little land protected - narrow strips of "protected land" are not ecologically sustainable and a developed golf course is not environmentally protected land.

I think they are quickly going to learn that normal does not apply in this case. Normally potential house buyers see rows of pretty streets and and brand new houses and have little thought to what was there before. Urbandale knows that in this case all potential buyers are going to be completely aware of what was there before - the Beaver Pond Forest - part of the most significant environmental lands in Ottawa, the near wilderness South March Highlands. They are going to know it has been clear cut to build the houses they are looking at and that every new house purchased paves the way for more destruction of the South March Highlands.

It may be easy to dismiss the first factor - it's done now, we can't bring the trees back. But the second one is going to gnaw on potential buyers because they will feel the responsibility and guilt of helping to destroy the rest of the forest that KNL/Urbandale plans to develop. And while there may be some potential buyers that don't care, even some who take glee in being anti-environment, anti-earth - is that really who Urbandale wants to market their houses to. No doubt concerns over the destruction of the Beaver Pond Forest is going to affect sales of all Urbandale homes in the Ottawa area.

There is a way out - a way to turn Urbandale into the hero rather than the villain and one that would gain them my praise. Why would I praise the people who just clear cut the Beaver Pond Forest. Because I believe it is never too late to do the right thing, and because I believe in redemption.

The solution of course is obvious. Remove that last factor, the threat to the rest of Urbandale's South March Highlands lands that purchasing a house in the former Beaver Pond Forest represents.

Urbandale can protect the lands by donating them to the City and they can even gain a financial advantage by doing it in as way that maximizes their tax benefit.

Of course I would still expect them to respect the First Nations archeological and cultural heritage within the Beaver Pond Forest site and find appropriate Storm Water Management plans that do not pollute the rest of the South March Highlands.

Urbandale could use some good press right now and it certainly would boost their marketing ability all over Ottawa. And sometimes (even better late than never) being a hero just feels good.

Lyon Sachs and Mary Jarvis are you ready to feel praise rather than condemnation. Are you ready to become heroes.

Lest We Forget - The Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion

On this Remembrance Day let us remember Canada's forgotten heroes , the first Canadians to fight against fascism, the veterans of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion.

The Canadians who died in the Spanish Civil War are not included in the Books of Remembrance in the Peace Tower and their sacrifice is not commemorated on federal war memorials or in Remembrance Day services. Those who survived the war are not entitled to veterans' benefits. Although the soldiers and the war is largely forgotten, a monument to the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion can be found in Victoria, British Columbia. A national monument to the Mac-Pap veterans was erected in Ottawa in 2001. It includes the names of the 1,546 Canadian volunteers who served in Spain. This number includes all those who served in the Mac-Pap battalion, the medical, communications, transportation and translation corps, or in other brigades.