Celebrating Local Wildlife on World Wildlife Day

                                                                 World Wildlife Day 2021 Logo 

This is United Nations World Wildlife Day, which you all knew, of course. It almost slipped past me, which would have been a disgrace given my love of the natural world, what we often describe as Creation in our Judeo/Christian tradition. Our bible begins with abundance and diversity, with the Creator bringing all that lives into being. We have psalms such as Psalm 104 which praise God for "all creatures great and small" which are worthy of celebration just because they exist, not because they serve the purposes of humans. God looks on all this and declares it good. 

It's interesting that the logo for this year's Wildlife Day depicts tigers, and caribou, and eagles, some of the stars of the creaturely drama of our planet. We tend to do this -- think of  the popularity of polar bears -- yet the diversity of our world depends on the chorus and the character actors as well as the celebrities.

A couple of days ago we participated in a Zoom meeting of the Belleville Planning Committee because a wooded area less than half a kilometre from our suburban home is under application for development. This woodland is a gem on the edge of the city with old growth maples and oaks and cedars and with a Provincially Significant Wetland running through it. There are more than 2,000 on a petition to stop this development. 

This wetland is home to snapping turtles and spring peepers and other reptiles and amphibians. We hear the coyotes who live in those woods some nights, and we see the deer tracks and the beaver lodges. There are blue herons and osprey and many other birds and butterflies as well.  It's a treasure, but a substantial portion of the developer's land would be clear-cut under the proposal and more than 150 homes would be constructed over the course of a decade. 

There were excellent presentations from some of those who oppose this development , looking at traffic flow, public safety, noise pollution, and reduction of unique habitat. While there could be accusations of NIMBY - not in my backyard -- it's a stretch to find a benefit for anyone other that the developer who doesn't live in this community. Some more tax revenue, to be sure, but when do we recognize that this area is already home to creatures we all need for a healthy environment? 

This World Wildlife Day I'm recognizing that we can honour Creation close to home, and those creatures which inhabit our neighbourhoods, as vital to our health and wholeness. No alligators or polar bears, but wildlife to be cherished. We can aspire to "live with respect in Creation", as our creed states. 

Here is the Belleville petition, if you would like to sign: 

https://www.change.org/p/save-our-community-greenspace-by-stopping-development-of-the-hanley-park-north-subdivision?signed=true

                                               Close-to-Home Provincially Significant Wetland