Comment 64155

By JoeMinor (registered) | Posted May 28, 2011 at 20:25:37

The problem with the current form of the Churchill Park Master Plan is that it does not correctly balance the "wants" (for optional recreation) of a single species that visits the park with the "needs" (for survival) of the 1,582 species that live in Cootes. From a barn swallow's perspective:

We are barn swallows. We are a Threatened Species At Risk that lives in Churchill Park at the edge of Cootes Paradise. We fly really low, really fast and pick insects off of the grass. When you play soccer, your thundering herds flush even more insects for us to eat. Thank you for the yummy bugs. We and 1,581 other species call Cootes Paradise home. We have lived here for ages, and we have shared our home with you. Please respect our home, and be careful when you visit to play. When you surrounded Cootes with pavement, what you left us is not enough for all of us to survive. As a result, every other year one of our friends (the entire species) disappears from Cootes forever.* Could you please give a little of the park back to Cootes? Maybe around the edges? When you come to the park, please do not kill. Even the grass produces bugs. If we can’t catch enough fast enough our babies will starve. We need your help. We are worried that your Churchill Park Master Plan proposes too much killing in the park. Since we do not have eMAIL, please contact our friend Joe at jminor@cogeco.ca if you have questions.

*Due to various forms of human encroachment, Cootes Paradise is suffering extirpations (local “extinctions”) at a rate of 0.5 species/year.

Joe Minor

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