Putting the view in Meadowview
By Paul Morden, from www.theobserver.ca The Observer
Lambton County plans to turn an empty sun-baked field at Lambton Meadowview Villa into a natural area with trees, shrubs, pathways and benches.
The large piece of property sits south of the Petrolia-area long-term care facility operated by the county, and fronts on Petrolia Line.
It has been vacant since Lambton tore down an older home for the aged, known as Twilight Haven, after building Meadowview Villa behind it on the large county-owned site.
“We’ve tossed around different ideas over the years,” said Ken Herrington, the county’s manager of long-term care.
They included using the land for a medical helicopter landing pad, or finding a local service club interested in using it for a community project.
In the meantime, the property has sat vacant and covered with grass that has has to be cut, although it doesn’t grow well because of poor soil conditions and exposure to the sun.
“This year,” Herrington said, “we decided to go ahead.”
The plan makes use of a partnership with the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority to maintain several pieces of vacant county property.
In 2006, an established wood lot on the Meadowview Villa property was logged and the money earned used to plant 7,500 trees and shrubs on the north side of the home.
The latest plan suggested by the authority is to use funds from a county land management reserve fund to create more than 1,400 feet of pathways through the vacant southern property, and plant more than 600 seedlings, plus shrubs and other native plants and grasses.
Silver maple, burr oak and shagbark hickory are the tree species proposed in the plan.
The pathways will be covered in a natural material created from packed stone chips and dust.
Work on the project is expected to begin this fall, after the plan goes before county council Sept. 7, Herrington said.
Along with helping the county fulfill its commitment to increase local tree cover, the project will create an area residents of the home, their families and the public will be able to enjoy.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to get out and stretch their legs and enjoy nature,” Herrington said.
Observer Article ID #3287041