Photo Friday: Where Once There Were Woods

It was a small forest. It divided École Élémentaire Catholique Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau from the pathway that followed the transit corridor. When the OC Transpo buses and VIA Rail trains weren't lumbering along, you could feel a bit removed from the urban sprawl that is exploding all over Barrhaven.

Where once there was a field, I remember seeing fireflies swirling and glowing in the early evenings.

The field and forest are gone, now. Roads carve the field: new houses, made of wood, stand where trees once thrived, once provided a break between the school and the transitway.

It makes me sad.

I know, I have no ground upon which I can stand as I lament. My street, my neighbourhood, my house, are standing on what was once a farmer's field. Before the farm, no doubt, the woods in this area were vast.

It would be nice to preserve some natural green space, to leave some of the forests in Barrhaven alone. But it's not going to happen. From a public meeting a few years ago, my city councillor, Jan Harder, explained that every inch of my community has been slated for development.

I no longer live in the boonies.