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[In [um "\RIUI (um Mil 'ltl In JIrt REM" S‘LI’LS Mix “JR tm “I I NM, RI.I’RL\I _ l "" bb Jitrr Nltltthyt NH"! INEDII'UR . “RH! tNM, luv“. "tll I y ll)lllllln: I] '0Ht0ut' MN I l 9 HM l\' mum“ Pl ttl BM”! " Aw “I litl \lmkl thMIt "" Pl HI hill" WATERLOO CHRONICLE “U! "ttth I" RN“ '1”va l \w, 't " t "b93IL1 279 Weber St. N.. Suite ltr “uterine. Ontario ‘3 3H8 “1830 Fax: 8863383 I u ts.uaterioochr, oirk.ca hula wind-n luv-Inf. u: MIN/nu. [mum l, m drudlnmh fr rhm, hron Hats off to C.happcll for organizing the tirst meeting of thc Clair Hills community association. scheduled for this Thursday night. Hopefully her neighbours will realize the bun-fits such a group could bring In the city as a whole. sl Of course, there's the environment. Fewer car emis- sions spell cleaner air, which equal fewer smog days in the upcoming summer months. Then there's the soaring gas prices. Splitting the cost of gas four ways for one week of commuting would help ease the pain these motorists must feel every time they visit the pumps. [My .. . - “tom's got to be a bettct way as Chappell believes. It's just a matter ofmecting each other and finding one. All they need to do is think about the list of benefits carpooling would bring. arric Chappcll's thought that people in her Clair ( Hills neighbourhood could be carpooling to work each day is refreshing. It's true that many of the up-and-comer:; who work at the local high-tech companies, including Open Text. Sybase and Research In Motion, have made their homes on the west side of the city. So it makes sense a number of those people travel the same roulc lo work each morning, and perhaps even lol- luw each other home at night. _ Carpooling would -- bring so many Ittmtttlttt "Knowing I hopefully helped someone beat cancer, or at least hopefully gave them a few more years, really started lo hit me." Strong words ”Stacey Bormorrarrourdovor lhl- art-u ils‘t-N IN uniqm'. [wing only um' nl thrcc in thc rcgiort um (‘ullld lind Local environmentalists are wondering how the builder managed to avoid the buffer mnv that cnvi- ronmentally sensitive arc-as lilu' this are supposed to have in mlr urban and rural arm» They used In so" swamp Land to suckers: now they'm building $500,000 homes right on top of the shifting soil. Walk out the back door. instead of the front and yotfre gttarantced In have a sinking feeling Look closer and you'll sec why, as the housc sits right in the middle of a swamp. But there's something mu quite right about the backyard as huge stones shore up the roar founda, tion of the property. I'm sure it doesn't hurt the house's price tag that the first thing you see when you walk out the front door is the preserved natural splendour of Laurel Crock Conservation Area. The house on Beaver, creek Road is a gorgeous two-storey from the outside. and probably approaching 3,000 square feet on the inside. with all the bells and whistles that go with this type of aspirational living. ust a few kilometres away from the country- side line that divides Naterloo and Wilmot Town- ship, you see another exam- ple of what's wrong with the "huild it wherever you can" approach to development. WE ttlthtm save it UP nave it And this is all down the road from the Laurel Creek Nature Centre where I used to go when l was in Grade 4 and Grade 5 In explore our natural heritagv. What unu- fell Mir a drive into ther \sildrrnr'ss mm ft.cls like you're visiting Waterloo; nmu-sl sultdivi sion. " takG.s nalure a long time to bounce back from our folly, if it ever does. This will further dimin- ish thvnalural area and might lead to irreversible vnvironmentat tHgradation. ls that fear miingcring? Perhaps -- hm what if they're right? But once the homeowner realizes they'll have to deal with a leaky baseman! and nature encroaching on their back door. they will start staking out and draining the land. with the same characterise tics, and home to certain rare indigenous species. thc kwt um mu "ctttallv Herv1, nur rhanu- draw the Inu- m iltts sand rhere is no (01“mean in this plan In prt-wm- the arvul, nuluml hrn‘tugu Lu, "tthtrr saw H m um paw II, That could all change May lo if Waterloo rogiunal council endorses the new Imvironrtu'mally Svnxilin- Iands‘mpr pla n. They were set up to help the declining swallow popu- lation - another 'terald to what our constant mlrroarlnncnt is doing to our natural areas. llul not all is fine in this pier" of paradise as right across the road is a forsak- sign, and talk of another subdivision if the property owner can get the proper approvals. Besides a well-worn path, the only other vvi- denrc that people regularly visit here ure a hunch of bird feeders, It's such a natural labora- tory that University of Waterloo classes visit to study indigenous species. There's even a plan to transplant some of the tree' species to a new habitat being built in from ofGrand River Hospital. I'd call it one of Water- loo's best kept secrets. hut more than a few people know it as Schneider':; Woods. . Yet. just down the road, off Conservation Drive. you can still see things we took for granted on our school trips in the 1970s and 1980s. see a new subdivision right from the nature (omn- probably tells you all you have m know.