Plan underway for rehabilitating Wellesley pond, township council hears
A COMMUNITY GROUP WORKING on improvements to the Wellesley pond are hoping to make some progress again this year.
The Friends of Wellesley Pond, having received some financial support from the region, has been moving ahead with design options for rehabilitating the popular recreational spot in the village.
“The pond is a focal feature in the community and that needs to stay. It is part of the history. It is part of the culture. It is part of the community. Here, it’s part of the green space, it is part of the park,” said Crystal Allan, natural heritage supervisor with the Grand River Conservation Authority, whose organization is working alongside the group.
She provided an update on the progress to Wellesley councillors meeting last week.
The organization includes stakeholders from the township, the GRCA, local interest groups and concerned residents. They got back together in 2016 to explore new opportunities for pond improvements.
“In 2016, the Friends of Wellesley Pond reconvened and again wanted to look at what those opportunities were today; sort of revisit information that we had, revisit the opportunities. ‘Is there something else that we didn’t think of? Is there a middle ground that we could explore?’” Allan explained.
There have been a number of rehabilitation efforts over the years, with reports routinely identifying poor water quality, limited aquatic biodiversity, nuisance waterfowl and carp as problems to be addressed.
“Those issues still remain the same,” she said. “It is just [a matter of] what else? Is there something that we didn’t consider last time that we could consider this time in the community?”
After exploring the options, the Friends of Wellesley Pond decided to submit the application to the Region of Waterloo Environmental Community Fund, gaining approval earlier this year.
The application identified three key targets in establishing both shortterm and long-term goals for rehabilitating the pond.
“One was to engage a consultant to help us through the process of establishing a concept and design. The second was to get an idea of what the cost would be of those designs, because there would be a fundraising aspect of any design moving forward, so what are the costs?” she said. “The third one was to initiate a shoreline naturalization project around the pond with the community, and this could be on any scale we decided. We could start small to get a sense of what the naturalization around that pond would be.”
The first step underway, the consultant is currently in the process of developing an appropriate design for the pond. The group is expecting to see a range of options in the fall, with public consultation to follow.
From there, the group will be looking for some initial cost figures.
“We are hoping that one of those options will rise to the top, and then we will work with the consultant to move towards some sort of design with cost estimates,” she said. “Once funds have been raised we will be able to engage implementation for that.”
Diving back into the third idea that came out of the report, the shoreline habitat provides a solution group members can see happening in the near future at the pond.
The shoreline habitat would provide aquatic productivity and biodiversity on the pond.
“By shoreline naturalization, what I mean is that it is just allowing some of that vegetation to grow. It provides habitat for wildlife, it provides food source and shelter for things living in the pond. It provides spawning habitat for fish and wildlife living in the habitat,” she said. “This was seen as sort of a best bet for being able to do something around the pond this year without a lot of funding, but you could still get a big bang for your buck on this.”
The group has chosen areas that will not prevent access or hinder future work on the pond.
The first of the three potential locations for the shoreline naturalization is along the south side of Queen’s Bush Road. The group would plant 20 species of native wildflowers and shrubs. The second option is located directly kitty corner, at the north side of Queen’s Bush Road. There, the group would plant 17 species of native wildflowers and shrubs to enhance wildlife habitat, as well as reducing parkland mowing away from the trail.
In the third option, the group is considering planting trees on the parkland. A local community group would provide the funding for four species of trees to enhance forest cover.
“We are excited about the opportunities there to enhance and improve the water quality of Wellesley Pond,” she said. “With that, I would say stay tuned!”