A Congregation to Save Bell Creek

A “Save Our Bell Creek” meeting on Wed., July 22, 2026 co-hosted by Belleville-based Quinte Field Naturalists and The Friends of Bell Creek drew more than 100 residents with concerns about a 103-unit residential subdivision proposed for lands within the Bell Creek watershed. Photo by DEREK BALDWIN /Belleville Intelligencer

 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,

  the world, and those who live in it,
2 for he has founded it on the seas

    and established it on the rivers.

Psalm 24:1-2 NRSVue 

Last evening I cycled to a public meeting at a nearby church,  Eastminster United. I arrived a bit early but when I entered the large room it was already nearly full and people kept coming until there were in the neighbourhood of 125 to 135 souls. 

This wasn't a religious meeting but it was a congregation of those who have what they might describe as a spiritual connection to a 6+ hectare wild area in the east end of the city of Belleville. It is a combination of woods and marshland with a large portion slated for housing development. Many of those assembled visit this lovely enclave daily while we are occasional visitors, enjoying the trilliums and marsh marigolds in Spring and the trails can be magical after a snowstorm. The gathering was labelled Save Our Bell Creek. 

This was not a Belleville Council meeting although I commend the four councilors who attended. The lawyers who represent the developers were not present to say that they have complied with reduced government regulations, hardly something to brag about. The current Ontario government has been brutal in reducing the scope of Conservation Authorities including setbacks from sensitive marshland. It has pressured municipalities to develop within their boundaries using grants as both the carrot and the stick to make it happen. 

Once again the presenters did an excellent job of making the case for preserving this land in perpetuity. There are maple trees that are more than a hundred years old and a cedar woods that is unique. Quinte Field Naturalists have documented more than 800 species of flora and fauna including several owl species. This choice for protection would be a far better legacy for the city than another subdivision. 

I went to this meeting because I am religious and spiritual and have a passion for protecting wild spaces, including within or near urban areas. I understand the need for housing in this province but there is plenty of land in Belleville officially designated for housing development and this is not necessary. A guest speaker noted that municipalities such and Kitchener and Guelph and Brampton have developed robust guidelines for protecting wetlands. 

The Belleville Intelligencer was there last night and the article about the meeting is already online. Here are a few paragraphs from the piece: 

Environmental Defence spokesperson Rebecca Kolarich told the meeting wetlands are being lost across the province as the Ontario government continues to erode environmental protections in the name of creating more needed housing.

Thanks to amended Ontario regulations, for example, Kolarich said former construction buffer zones of 120 metres from wetlands have been reduced by the province to 30 metres from sensitive ecosystems such as Bell Creek.

“This is a problem because these buffer zones protect wetlands from impacts of development including pollution, runoff and erosion. They also protect surrounding properties from flooding by making sure development isn’t happening within a wetland’s floodplain. The new 30 metre buffer is not nearly enough space to prevent erosion, pollution and other harms,” Kolarich said.

“Southern Ontario has lost over 72 per cent of its original wetlands since the start of colonization and unfortunately these losses continue. So, over the past eight years, the Ontario government has removed or weakened key policies and programs that were once in place to protect these remaining wetlands and the weakening of these provincial policies, programs and regulations has left Ontario’s wetlands unprotected and communities like Belleville, at risk.”

https://www.intelligencer.ca/news/belleville-residents-speak-out-against-subdivision-proposed-for-bell-creek

While I could have offered an impromptu prayer or a verse or two of scripture in this place of worship I doubt they would have been well received. Just the same I will pray for a positive outcome for the Bell Creek watershed gem. 

                                                          Bell Creek on the Belleville doorstep