Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
O U R N A T U R A L H E R I T A G E
UNDERSTANDING HERITAGE IN THE COUNTY
Thursday, March 05, 2009
The year 2009 marks the 225th anniversary of Loyalist settlement in Prince Edward County. When these United Empire Loyalists arrived in “the County” in 1784, they created an economy that evolved from timber to agriculture. The museums, old cemeteries, historic structures, and written accounts preserve this cultural history so that we, and generations after us, can continue to recognize the contributions made by our early pioneers. These pioneers helped shape the look of our county today.
How could these pioneers know, or even appreciate, the rich natural history we also have in this county? The alvars, swamps, cattail marshes, and limestone shoals in Lake Ontario were more than likely seen as obstacles to early agriculturists and mariners, and not attributes as we see them today. We see decaying lighthouses, old barns, commercial fishing communities, and stumble across old furrows in fields of thin soil where farmers once tried desperately to eke out a living. Few of us give the past much thought.
Over the years, people or communities have selectively gathered and identified those things that they wish to consider components of our heritage. Some regard cultural heritage and natural heritage as two separate entities, and perhaps they are to a point. However, they are indeed connected.
This is the first in a series of 15 columns that will serve to draw our attention to the incredible natural heritage we have in Prince Edward County, and illustrate how it connects to the rich cultural heritage that has moulded this county. This limited edition of articles is sponsored by the Prince Edward Stewardship Council. The Council is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and through the efforts of many volunteers and a coordinator, plan programs and locate resources to meet the stewardship needs of Prince Edward County. The spectacular Heritage Tree poster, sugar maple seminars, the coyote/wolf presentation last February, tree identification workshop, and the Joe Eberwein Memorial Stewardship Bursary, are just a sprinkling of the many projects in which the local stewardship council have been involved in, or taken leadership. As with the cultural history in the county, we have all this wonderful natural heritage in Prince Edward County; let’s progress beyond taking it for granted, learn more about it, and ponder ways in which we can preserve it.
It doesn’t take long to chalk up a long list of natural features in Prince Edward County. Sandbanks Provincial Park tops the list in the minds of many, the Prince Edward Point and South Shore Important Bird Area that rivals Point Pelee in terms of abundance and density of spring migrants, Lake-on-the-Mountain, and Point Petre are others that come to mind.
Did you know that we have a piece of the Canadian Shield right here in Prince Edward County? Do you know the background to the naming of Cape Vesey, Waupoos, Consecon and other place names we take for granted? Are you aware that Scotch Bonnet Island rises only two metres above water, and that Roblin Lake is probably every bit as significant, geologically, as Lake-on-the-Mountain since it lies at the edge of a plateau? Carolinian tree species exist in the County, but how did they get here? Did you know that McMahon’s Bluff is a rare land form called a mesa?
We’ll examine some of these natural features of the county in the next 14 instalments of “Our Natural Heritage.” We hope you enjoy this latest endeavour from the Prince Edward Stewardship Council.
This is the first in a series of columns by Terry Sprague on the natural heritage of Prince Edward County, sponsored by the Prince Edward Stewardship Council. For more information, check out their website at http://www.ontariostewardship.org .