Nature must exist for all city residents

by Leena Sarkar, resident of Mechanicsville neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward

As a social worker, I am reminded daily of the importance of nature to peoples' mental health.

I am not talking about the escapes to cottage country for the relatively privileged few, but of the shade and relief of walking on a tree-lined city street when carrying groceries home, the delight in seeing a raccoon family peeking through foliage on a summer evening stroll, the peace of a garden humming with bees and butterflies, the deeply soothing experience of sitting by a river or rapids, breathing clean air, and watching ever changing skyscapes and sunsets and moonrises.

Urban ecology is incredibly undervalued--the accessible beauty in the city, the common spaces that are every person's right to experience regardless of their socio economic status .

Even though the City of Ottawa professes to care about the environment and the climate crisis, its current actions clearly support very different priorities.

The Lazy Bay Commons is a public green space that is now menaced by the potential planned construction of five embassies there, which will destroy a habitat that is a cherished area for the residents around, many who live in high density adjacent apartments.

Photo: twilight on the Ottawa River as viewed from Lazy

Bay Commons. Photo by Leena Sarkar

The planned destruction of more than 600 mature trees in the Experimental Farm to make way for a parking lot is yet another example of the ongoing disposability of trees in service of cars, a regressive philosophy in a time when we need more trees and less car dependency.

Right behind my townhouse, several healthy mature trees are about to be destroyed on City property because the city is insisting that a new Richcraft 30-storey luxury condo highrise put its underground five story parking garage off the city-owned back lane where these trees exist. Unfortunately, those of us who live behind this development will lose our light, our shade, our air quality and we will be left instead staring at a wall of concrete off a barren back lane with a vent blowing carbon monoxide a few feet away from our back doors. The city' s response to our concerns? Too bad for you...the highrise must go up, the lane must be paved over, and the neighbourhood health for existing residents is apparently not a factor of any importance in this decision.

Since when did the livability of our cities and inner city neighbourhoods become absolutely irrelevant?

Is natural beauty now something that only the rich are allowed to have?

I am alarmed and dismayed by the obvious greed and lack of consideration for vulnerable city residents who are always the ones left behind with these decisions.