Pearce Estates 'Naturalization' Phase II June 2003
In the last week Phase II construction of the 'naturalization' of the historic landscapes of Pearce Estate began.
To this point we have seen the excavation of a very large area which encompasses most of the what used to be fairways # 15, 16, 17 , and 18 on the Disc Golf course at Pearce Estate. Area of the activity is much larger than that presented during the public hearing and uses approximately 1/2 of the area from the south side of the Outflow stream to the park boundary on the south side. Depth of the excavation varies between approx 3' and 12' and there is, as of the date of writing, several large construction units on site including an excavator, bulldozer, front end loader and packer..
In addition to the construction of the future 'slough beds', a very large trench approximately 12' deep has been constructed from the Hatchery out to what will be the new man-made 'natural' marsh area where the former Beach VolleyBall area once used to be. This is intended to carry ` 10% of the Hatchery effluent sub-surface to this area for final 'cleaning' by future introduced wetland plants.
These excavations have already resulted in the removal of a number of trees and plants from the area including: the very large tree that used to stand at the east end of the volleyball court which also used to shade tee-box number 16. All the trees and shrubs in this area have been completely eradicated, including the 3 object trees which we used to 'tape' on number 16.
As you can see from the pictures Major Compaction (from the use of heavy equipment) has occurred around the trees. (You may remember from the public hearings held in 1999 that one of the reasons given by the City Naturalists to remove Disc Golf from Pearce Estate was a fear of 'major compaction'.) The effects of our pedestrian traffic on the landscapes of Pearce Estate park look rather insignificant now.
Additional long term damage, apart from the removal of 'habitat' i.e.; trees and shrubs during the spring nesting season, would be the extensive damage to done to the root systems of the remaining trees in the park. The photograph of the 'trench' clearly shows the severed roots which are the result of excavating within the drip line of these trees. These trees have now lost a large percentage of their root systems to this project which will certainly compromise both their respiration and their structural integrity.
In other parts of the park large piles of excavated dirt displays very large amounts of severed root material, and this soil itself is now piled into large mounds on top of and around the remaining trees eg: the area around what used to be Hole #18, where there was a lovely circle of old and large balsam poplars, is now buried under 15' to 20' feet of recently excavated dirt.
I have called the City Bylaw department and asked them to investigate this site as I believe the damage done to Pearce Estate violates the 'Tree Protection Bylaw' which was passed by Council last year and which can be viewed
-=HERE=-
I have heard of several instances where the Calgary Parks and Recreation have been very proactive in terms of enforcing this bylaw, and have been threatening violators with massive fines for damaging trees during excavations around City Trees on boulevards or in adjacent parks and green spaces.
It will be interesting to see if this law applies to everyone, or if this is merely a case of 'don't do as I do, but do as I say'.
As I have mentioned in previous letters to the City, and copied to BP Amoco, the primary private sponsor of this project, which were written as a result of the damage and tree removal to the park during Phase I of this project, this 'naturalization' of the historic landscapes of Pearce Estate clearly violate Principles # and #1 of the Urban Parks MasterPlan. This clearly doesn't matter, especially when the primary interest is; the 'green-washing' of a corporate reputation, the personal ambition and desire for personal advancement by our so-called public servants and a misguided intent to teach gullible kids and their even more gullible teachers about nature using an artificial, man-made landscape.
The result of all this damage to Pearce Estate will be a landscape that is as 'natural' as that found in certain enclosures at the Calgary Zoo, which to their credit, never attempts to misrepresent their landscaping work as anything more than a pale imitation of nature.
If you loved Pearce Estate and enjoyed it when it was a successful example of a multi-use park, call your Alderman and the City Bylaw office.
Yours sincerely
Craig Burrows-Johnson
