They’ve done it before and starting April 28 they’ll be doing it again!
Starting Tuesday, April 28, students from the Rutland Senior Secondary School Forestry program will help improve safety and security in a section of Mission Creek Regional Park.
Weekdays between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm, they’ll be clearing shrubs and ground plants from a densely vegetated 1.8-hectare section of the park between the Irrigation Channel to the Leckie Road parking lot and Springfield Road. While the work is underway, half of the parking lot will be closed for debris disposal. Please stay out of this area while the supervised students are at work. The project is expected to wrap up by Friday May 1st.
Communications Officer Bruce Smith says, “The RSS Forestry students worked in this area of the park in the fall of 2013. We’re pleased that they’re able to return, cleaning up the vegetation that’s grown back over the past two years. They’ve done excellent work on several other Regional Parks projects over the years including the initial ground vegetation clean up in this area in 2009. This particular project provides them with some in-field experience while helping improve the overall safety and experience for visitors to Mission Creek Regional Park.
” This work uses one of the important principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design: increasing visibility and natural surveillance by removing cover vegetation. In the past, this area of the park off the Leckie Road parking lot has had occasional instances of inappropriate and illegal activities. The vegetation clean-up will help to improve the safety and security for everyone using this section of the regional park.”
Some of the many trails that run though the area may be decommissioned as a result of this work. Vegetation in the area will be allowed to naturally regenerate and will be maintained by Parks Services staff.
