Township of Centre Wellington Landscape Analysis

Draft (under review)

April 15, 2010

Introduction

In 2008 Greenlands Centre Wellington started down a path to describe an updated Greenlands system for the Township of Centre Wellington (TCW). Greenlands comprise a system of natural areas, recreational lands, agricultural working lands, and open spaces for citizen’s use and enjoyment, and for the protection of ecological values. Greenlands are necessary to provide not only for environmental conservation but also to provide for a healthy community in the long run.

One of the primary steps in defining a better integrated and sustainable system of greenlands was to go beyond the existing County of Wellington designated Greenlands system and consider not only features of special significance but also the role of greenlands in meeting the need to adopt smart growth principals. This consideration acknowledged the need for pedestrian access and the desire to tie together features with landscape links many of which rely on existing parklands and other municipal lands.

The landscape analysis for this project was undertaken in order to determine a system of linked features of special significance, landscape features that could be enhanced, restored and re-integrated into the overall green infrastructure of the Township. This report summarizes the findings of the landscape analysis and acknowledges the important role that the Township of Centre Wellington has in the natural heritage of the Grand River watershed.

During the course of the landscape analysis it was determined that the majority of lands in the Township of Centre Wellington meet the criteria for Environmentally Sensitive Landscapes (ESL) as described by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Regional Official Policies Plan (ROPP, 2005). It is clear that the Township of Centre Wellington warrants a high level of protection. It is home to significant species, rare and unusual landscapes, a world class sports fishery, a regional physiographic connection between the Niagara Escarpment, the Ontario Greenbelt and the Waterloo Moraine, and it provides a remarkable cultural presence in South Western Ontario.

Recommendations for the conservation of landscape linkages and natural heritage features are provided for the Township and County to improve the connectivity of the Greenlands System and conserve an integrated sustainable natural heritage system for the future.

The Report is contained in the following pdf files: