City Council approves $10k in financial support for Souharissen Natural Area in Waterdown

At City Council, I was honoured to introduce a motion in support of Waterdown’s Souharissen Natural Area. The motion was seconded by Ward 4 Councillor Tammy Hwang and received unanimous support from my Council colleagues.

On August 21st, 2014 the Souharissen Natural Area was dedicated in Waterdown by the Honourable David C. Onley, 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and Chief M. Bryan Laforme and Council of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. At sunrise that morning, a Sacred Fire was lit by Elder Garry Sault in the Natural Area. Tended by a Firekeeper (Rocky Burnham of the Six Nations on the Grand River), the Sacred Fire was the first in Waterdown/Flamborough for generations (perhaps centuries) and was visited by both the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Laforme after the formal dedication ceremony.

August 2024 will mark the 10th anniversary of the dedication ceremony. The 55-acre Souharissen Natural Area sits adjacent to the Mountainview Heights neighborhood, running along Dundas St. from First Street past Avonsyde Bvld. Along the trail inside the Souharissen Natural Area, one will find multiple monument stones, points of interest, a canoe garden, and numerous bat houses. The bat houses were created in 2019 and installed in 2023 by students from Allan A Greenleaf, in partnership with grade 11 and 12 students from Waterdown District High School, taught by Mr. Nathan Tidridge of the Department of Canadian and World Studies. To learn more about the Souharissen Natural Area, please visit the website of Mr. Tidridge at tidridge.com.