Walking exploration tours to highlight importance of Laurentian's greenspace

A group of experts and trail enthusiasts is planning to draw attention to the importance of Sudbury's greenspace — specifically the more than 200 hectares of undeveloped land at Laurentian University.

As it works through its insolvency and restructuring, the post-secondary school is undergoing a real estate review, which has some in the city afraid that the greenspace could be sold.

In May, the grassroots group Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury put forward a call to action for the community to help keep the forest and trails at LU available to the community. The members also want to better educate residents about the importance of the greenspace.

One of the results was to plan two public walking exploration tours of the greenspace with experts in biology, regreening and history.

Sharon Roy, who is a member of the coalition, uses the trails at Laurentian in every season, from skiing in the winter to cycling and hiking the rest of the year.

"It's absolutely central to my ability to get out and enjoy nature on a weekly basis," she said.

Roy says there are a lot of Sudbury residents who care about the greenspace, but don't really know what to do to protect it from being sold. 

"Getting together and talking about it together can maybe help people feel empowered to share their own voices about why the space is important to them, with the people who can make a difference with that," she said.

"Having these two public tours … is really to raise people's attention to how valuable having such a large greenspace in our own backyard, and what it means to Sudburians," said Franco Mariotti, a biologist and naturalist.

Mariotti is a Laurentian alumnus and recalls using the greenspace on campus as a student. He says it even inspired him during his work with live animals at Science North, a job he retired from in 2014.

"That whole notion came from my experience at being a biology student at Laurentian University," he explained. 

For his part, Mariotti says he will discuss the animals that use the greenspace for habitat during the tour.

"I'm really interested in the birds, the reptiles and the animals that still live there and that use that area," he said.

"If people are wondering, what's so special about the greenspace? They will discover that during this walk," Mariotti said.

History of greenspace

Paul Haynes will add the historical perspective. He refers to himself as a local history explorer, and has led countless hikes with the Rainbow Routes Association.

"There's a history going back before European settlement right to the present day of the Laurentian University campus being an important part of a natural wilderness area that has been accessible and highly valued for years," he said.

"I think the value of or the appeal of those trails is not certainly widely known, even by people who use them regularly," Haynes said of the importance of including experts on the exploration tours.

'World example of restored site'

Biologist and regreening pioneer Peter Beckett is also one of the experts who will be on hand for the exploration tours.

"When you walk through that area, you could almost identify which trees were planted by the regreening, and how much they are contributing to the biodiversity of that greenspace right now," Mariotti said.

"It's a world example of a restored site."

We are so incredibly fortunate to have this in the city of Sudbury.- Franco Mariotti, biologist, naturalist

"We're so incredibly fortunate to have this in the city of Sudbury, literally in the city of Sudbury," he said. 

The first exploration walk is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday, from the steps at the Ben Avery Gymnasium building on campus. The second event is scheduled for 4 p.m. on August 18.

The walking tours are expected to take between 60 and 90 minutes, and there is no cap on the number of people who can attend.