By Pepper Parr
July 17th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
An upgrade on the membership of the group that supports a quarry in rural Burlington. We are advised that the membership has written more than 2000 letters of support.
For the community group opposing the expansion of the Nelson Quarry in rural Burlington the next step is to demonstrate and get their message out.
The application by Nelson Aggregates to expand their open pit mine is a long and slow moving process.
City Council has come out against the expansion, there is a small group for the expansion: they don’t appear to have much in the way of community support.
On July 20th, CORE Burlington, PERL and Wellington Water Watchers will be outside the gates of Nelson Aggregates on the 2nd Side Road for A Morning on Mt.Nemo. They will be joined by Shane Philips of Wellington Water Watchers as he continues his ‘Ear to the Groundwater’ walking tour with a visit to the gates of Nelson Aggregate’s open-pit gravel mine, followed by a hike to the scenic brink of Burlington’s Niagara Escarpment.
Why: To raise awareness of the devastating effect open-pit gravel mines have on communities and the environment. Shane will connect the dots between the local and the global issues, and show how gravel mining helps fuel the climate crisis, and how Doug Ford’s agenda for new highways and more urban sprawl will devour our future.
When/Where: Tuesday, July 20th, 10am at 2462 No. Two Sideroad Burlington. Across from the gates of Nelson Aggregate’s 540-acre open pit mine on Burlington’s Escarpment: part of an UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve
A rendering of what Nelson Aggregates wants to do with the land when they have completed their mining of the available aggregate.
Order of Events:
10:00am – 10:30 Speakers, Mike Balkwill, Wellington Water Watchers; Janet Turpin Myers, CORE Burlington; Sarah Harmer, PERL; and Shane Phillips. As a special treat, Sarah will also perform ‘Escarpment Blues’.
10:30 – 11:45 Drive to Mt. Nemo Conservation Area (a few minutes away) for a hike to the brink of the Escarpment, and back again (about a 20 minute walk on an easy trail each way)
NOTE: The Conservation area requires advanced reservations to enter. We will reserve tickets for our group, which we expect will number about 20-30. If you plan to come along for the hike, please RSVP by responding to this email, no later than Monday, July 19th by 9am. This will help us to calculate how many reservations to make.
If you choose not to hike with us, please do join us for the first portion of the morning.
For more information contact: coreburlington@gmail.com
About CORE Burlington: www.coreburlington.com
