Trent Lands will be a key part of Peterborough’s growing future
At Trent University we envision a sustainable and inspiring campus community, thoughtfully integrating the natural and built environments, with vibrant places to learn, live, innovate, and be active. Trent's natural setting is more than a backdrop to our campus. The cherished environment defines us and is the reason we are committed to retaining 60 per cent of the Trent Lands, an amazing 870 acres, as natural areas and greenspace. Building on decades of planning and approvals, there are a number of exciting projects underway at our campus.
The City of Peterborough Arena and Aquatic Complex, located on 24 acres of land formerly owned by Trent, will provide significant recreational services for the community. The site, selected through an open public process in 2013, currently houses a busy facilities depot, storage sheds, a baseball diamond, and former farm field. The site is adjacent to Trent’s impressive 30-km trail system, promoting active recreational opportunities.
The City of Peterborough has conducted many independent environmental studies on the site, finding no species at risk and no areas of natural or scientific interest. All studies are available on the city’s website. The city designed the site to minimize environmental impact, and the landscape plan features extensive plantings of native species including 1,700 eastern white cedar.
There has been considerable scrutiny of this project by both elected and regulatory bodies. The Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) has approved the site plan, which includes enhancing the existing wetland border with new plantings, and creating a functioning compensation wetland for a small area of damaged wetland (less than 1/3 acre) needed to accommodate the building layout.
Cleantech Commons is set to become Canada’s premier green business and cleantech research destination. Located on former farmlands, a series of environmental studies guided our planning, all available at www.trentu.ca/trentlandsplan. The master plan for the park is based on principles that include being a leader in sustainable design, preserving existing hedgerows, naturalized landscaping, and trails throughout.
A necessary upgrade to Pioneer Road brings new lighting, sidewalks and bike paths connecting to the rotary trail. Problems with the existing culverts (which were generally non-functioning) have been fixed with upsized culverts that enhance wildlife connectivity, following a plan approved by ORCA. The first tenant will be Noblegen, a local company committed to the development of clean technology and environmentally-sustainable protein derived from algae.
Later this fall, Trent University is embarking upon an update to the Trent Lands Plan, the campus master plan that guides stewardship of the nature areas, and appropriate uses for the endowment lands. This plan will be developed through a robust and transparent public engagement process. As chair of the university’s Endowment Lands Committee, I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to design a future to provide opportunities for Trent and Peterborough in a way that embraces our environmental ideals. I invite you to see the big picture at www.trentlands.ca and delve into details past and present at www.trentu.ca/trentlandsplan.