Community members step forward with bold plans to reimagine the Brantwood Park shoreline

Neighbourhood advocates announce community engagement proposals ranging from new tree plantings and picnic and gathering area to a new footbridge twinned with Indigenous Healing Forests along the Rideau River.

LORNE ABUGOV

In what The Mainstreeter has called the Year of Community Engagement in Old Ottawa East (OOE), a number of dedicated local residents and neighbourhood activists have already stepped forward to announce exciting proposals to build and beautify this community.

And each of their ambitious plans shares a common focus – the shoreline area of Brantwood Park.

In a sidebar article to this one, local resident Judith Kennedy reports on her efforts to date, working jointly with the OOE Community Association (OOECA), the City of Ottawa and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority for over a year, to obtain necessary approvals and funding for a shoreline restoration planting in Brantwood Park. Concerned by the loss of mature trees along the Rideau River and the erosion of the banks along the park’s shore from the spring floods, Kennedy explains her proposal and its progress towards a final approval of a planting plan that will see new plants and shrubs dotting six zones of the shoreline.

Not to be outdone, local resident Rick Burrowes is calling for community support for his proposal that, if successful, would further enhance the Brantwood Park shoreline area.  Burrowes, who is no stranger to local greenspace enhancement, is credited with the significant beautification and grassroots development of Springhurst Park, including the much-enjoyed recreational area that he has renamed as People’s Park.

“My focus is on the beautiful riverside spot with the two Muskoka chairs,” he told The Mainstreeter. “Right now, it’s a quiet place for two people to sit and enjoy the river. But it has so much more potential.”

The vision, according to Burrowes, is to transform the riverside space into a welcoming, natural gathering spot for the whole community – a place where friends and families can picnic, relax, and enjoy the water. “Imagine a safe, comfortable area where parents and grandparents can wade with young children, where people can launch for a paddle, or simply stretch out and enjoy a sunny afternoon by the river,” he says.

As he describes it, his proposal has two phases, the first one would incorporate some immediate and simple improvements that would complement the existing Muskoka chairs to make the space usable and enjoyable for residents right away.  In this phase, the area would be fully seeded to add healthy and more comfortable grass surroundings.  Two picnic tables would be added to allow for picnickers and added seating. And several different tactics would be adopted to ensure that local residents – and not Canada Geese – would be the beneficiaries of the enhancements.

Then, hopefully by the fall of 2026 or spring of 2027, pending needed approvals, a second phase would complete the project. The work needed would include a minimalist landscaping of approximately 20 x 30 feet of the park’s shoreline to reduce the slope steepness and create a more comfortable space for sitting and lounging. 
Burrowes says the key to success for his Brantwood Park enhancement plan is demonstrated proof of community support. “Before this proposal can move forward, decision-makers need to see clear community backing.”  He intends to take the plan to the OOECA and is also asking individuals in Old Ottawa East to express their support for the plan directly to him by email at rickburrowes@gmail.com. “Your voice can help bring this space to life to benefit everyone in our community!” says Burrowes.

Even more ambitious are two separate but connected Brantwood Park and Rideau River proposals that have emerged from within the community to possibly serve as OOE’s contribution to advance Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation.

A new Rideau River footbridge that would traverse the water from the foot of Clegg Street at the northern edge of Brantwood Park to the opposite shore was originally proposed by the Old Ottawa East Community Association six years ago and modest progress has been made.

With the support of Councillor Shawn Menard, the proposed bridge is now included in the City’s list of major infrastructure projects for the active transportation plan. However, the City deemed it a “development-related” project meaning that it may be decades before major development of the Hurdman lands to the east will justify a new bridge.

Advocates say that “a bridge provides many positive things beyond being a key link in the City’s active transportation network, because it also is a meeting place and affords a unique space over a natural waterway.” As such, they say, the proposed Clegg footbridge could be named for an Indigenous leader or place and be a tangible symbol of reconciliation, with far more significance than some words on a plaque.

The recent push within the community to acknowledge our historical legacy has added an important motivation to accelerate the Clegg footbridge plan, advocates say. “Old Ottawa East currently has nothing that recognizes the fundamental importance of Indigenous peoples and the reality of the Oblates having their headquarters here for a very long time.  A beautiful footbridge might be a tangible means of addressing these realities and the need for reconciliation.”

At several recent meetings, including one with Capital Ward Councillor Shawn Menard in late February, the Clegg Street footbridge proposal was twinned with another Brantwood Park plan advanced by OOE resident Peter Croal, namely, the creation of two Healing Forests, one on each

side of the Rideau River to anchor the proposed new span.

“It is a natural fit,” said Croal. “The footbridge is the physical anchor, while the Healing Forests are the cultural anchor.”

Croal is the Co-Founder of the National Healing Forests Initiative, which has facilitated the creation of 18 Healing Forests since 2015 in communities across Canada, with many more on the drawing boards. According to its website, a Healing Forest is “a forest, garden, or green space – dedicated as a place for healing, learning, sharing, and reflection about Canada’s history and the legacy of Indian residential schools.”

The website adds: “Each Healing Forest looks different. Some are within urban parks and beside schools and churches. Others are on private land and remote natural spaces. Each community decides for themselves what their Healing Forest will look like and how it will function. The only condition is that the forest is created and used in the spirit of reconciliation, healing, shared understanding and respect.”

Croal points out that a Healing Forest needs a community champion to take “ownership” of the project and to create and maintain the space, which is designed in conjunction with an Indigenous partner and supported by Croal’s organization and community helpers. The Mainstreeter has already offered its support in the efforts to locate an individual, group or organization within OOE that might wish to “champion” the OOE Healing Forests initiative.  Interested parties can contact editor@mainstreeter.ca or healingforestscanada@gmail.com.