Letter to the Editor - Barrie Examiner

I sent the following to the Examiner today - we'll watch for it!

We'd like to thank Barrie and Simcoe County residents for the positive response to the concerns raised regarding SCDSB's proposal to clear cut 1.4 acres of mixed woodlot on the grounds of Bear Creek Secondary School and replace it with a practice sports field.
Much has happened since we were first alerted and we wanted to continue to share the story. Response to the petition (online version with comments - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveBearCreekForest/index.html) continues to grow and from this, three stewardship issues have been recognized. First, environmental. With a robust Environmental Policy in place, why this it is not feasible to preserve this woodlot? Second, financial. One might infer from this plan that all the other schools in the County have the requisite sports facilities and that this is the best way to spend the limited resources. Also, will the net annual operating expense increase arising from the new field maintenance be part of the current funding or is it going to result additional funds being needed? Finally, educational. We recognize that Bear Creek is overpopulated, but how does an additional field serve the entire student population?We are concerned by the lack of options being considered. Why not expand the use of the existing field? Why not replace the existing gravel track with a rubber surfaced track? Why not use the existing public soccer field 400 meters from the school? Why not consider placing the field atop the pipeline right of way that crosses the school property?

Letter to the Editor - From The Barrie Examiner

Thanks to Helliana Van Erp-Rothenburg for the supportive Letter to the Editor in Wednesday's Examiner. If you've not read it, here's the link:

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=616429&catname=Editorial&classif=

Did you know....

A healthy tree stores 13 pounds of carbon annually - or 2.6 tons per acre each year. An acre of trees absorbs enough CO2 over one year to equal the amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles....

The Bear Creek Forest is 1.4 acres in size which means that it stores 3.64 tons of CO2 each year - equaling driving a car 36,400 miles! This is the same distance as driving 303 round trips from Barrie to Toronto!

Barrie Advance

Leigh Blenkhorn from the Barrie Advance was just in the area. She got some information, the address for the blog and petition, and some photos. It was a pleasure speaking with her. The article will run in Friday's edition. Watch for it!

Watch for more information

A reporter from the Barrie Advance will be visiting the site today - watch for the article in this week's edition.

If you're interested in more....

If you'd like to get more invovled, feel free to send me an email r_m_gerbrandt@rogers.com and we'll add you to our regular mailing list.

This photo was taken July 12th, 2007 at the exact site the school wishes to demolish.