Staff unsure about educational nature centre proposed in Arthur

ARTHUR – The future of a learning outdoor agricultural and nature centre proposed in a rural area outside Arthur remains up in the air due to traffic concerns.

While several letters of support were shared for the proposed centre during a public meeting in Wellington North Monday afternoon, a staff report said the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and the roads division of the County of Wellington couldn't support the application until more information on the impact of traffic entering and exiting the site is provided. 

Organizers point out that at least initially there would only be around six children a day at the centre.

Proposed on 86.38 acres of land at 8196 Wellington Road 109, a report on the application said approximately 28.4 acres of the land would be used for a two-acre market garden operation and a new 30 ft x 70 ft greenhouse building for growing vegetables. 

The educational component will involve an outdoor agricultural and nature extracurricular program for children aged four to 12 and is intended to engage children in farming activities like working the soil, growing plants, seeding and harvesting. 

"A number of years ago when we started to naturalize a large portion of the property, it was always a bit of a dream to offer the land as a free resource for outdoor education," said Jim Phillips, the applicant and owner of Copernicus Educational Products, who delegated during the meeting. 

Phillips said the program will initially be funded by Copernicus and the hope is the market garden farm will help support the program further down the line. 

Copernicus community liaison Melissa Kooiman said the company identified a significant need for alternative options "outside of the sports world" in Arthur when surveying the community and they're hoping the proposed centre will fill the gap. 

High fees and accessing safe spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ children were also identified as barriers for families trying to access privatized outdoor education in the community. 

"I've personally witnessed the benefits of outdoor education within the traditional classroom setting," said Kooiman, during her delegation. 

"Our program isn't going to subtract from or replace traditional education, it's meant to enhance and provide an alternative way of supporting the whole child...and particularly those children that have been 'othered' in the public education system who maybe learn differently from the traditional academic learner." 

Recommending a deferral, the GRCA said they couldn't support the application until a hydraulic analysis and topographic survey demonstrating safe access to the proposed centre is completed. 

The County of Wellington Roads division also requested a traffic brief to review access entering/leaving the site. 

Kooiman said the group has reached out to the GRCA and has connected with the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors for topographic and hydraulic surveys and is waiting for quotes to address the concerns. 

A decision on the application will be made at a future council meeting. 

Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.