Blueberry Creek TVT Delegation September 18, 2018

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Blueberry Creek Delegation Notes September 18th, 2018 Tay Valley Township

I can’t begin to share with you how this dispute with Tay Valley Township against Blueberry Creek Nature Centre has impacted me. For the hundreds of hours spent fighting to save this space for children has caused harm to my physical and mental health, to my children, my friends and my community. The minutes allotted in this delegation cannot cover my exhaustion of wondering what barrier will next be presented by the township. Five times in the past six months, Council has met behind closed doors to discuss litigation against us. For each of those minutes, we have been kept in the dark with each document deemed “in camera -confidential.” I find it alarming that 60% of Council meetings in the past twelve months have involved “In Camera” discussions about litigation or potential litigation against its own citizens.

It was particularly upsetting to find an email dated May 11th from the staff at Tay Valley Township to the planning committee asking “Are you available for a phone call re the “School” definition as it relates to the Blueberry Creek School issue.” Novatech responded “The proposed definition for School has been expanded so that it is clear that it applies to both public and private schools. The Blueberry Creek School would be covered under this definition.”. Three days later on May 14th I received a letter from the lawyer of Tay Valley “the school is not “promoting education”, it is delivering education, as a private school…I will now act on my instructions from Council to commence an application in the Superior Court an order prohibiting any use of the property that does not comply with zoning.”

I cannot understand why so many resources, legal fees and staff time been poured into what has amounted to a dispute over the word “promote” as a Community Service of a children’s Nature Centre.

Instead, I will share with you the following letters from our families and a local expert Dr Shelley Ball.

“This beautiful place has become our happy place. Our daughter has grown into a nature loving and nature aware child over the past ten months. She asks me every day if it’s a Blueberry Creek day. Her understanding for creatures and the environment has blown my mind on several occasions. The pure joy on her face when she’s there and the relationships she has formed with the other children and the staff are things parents dream of. I’ve met many wonderful families through Blueberry who feel the exact same way. We are now moving our family to Tay Valley because we love this place so much and the lovely town already feels like home. Thank you Robyn and Staff for the amazing gifts you bring to this community!”

“At this site my child is free to safely explore and imagine within trees, the creek, and the fields, and his peers can lead with their own curiosities and wonders. The child of separated parents, much of his time is spent indoors; at public school or at home while I attend to the tasks that support our daily life. Blueberry Creek has allowed my son and our family to cultivate a balance which has become central to our thriving in the Ottawa valley.’”

"Our Granddaughter attends Blueberry Creek Nature Centre since January. We had tried the public school system for her and it just wasn’t a good fit. In our case, our Granddaughter fell in love with Blueberry Creek Nature Centre right away. Her anxiety levels are so much more controlled in this environment. The lay out for how the children learn has her excited, meeting other children who are having this similar experience. She is in her element learning this way and thrives while she is there. It is very upsetting for all of us with the unsettling situation.

Our family prays and hope's that this situation can be worked out to have our Nature Centre remain open to offer families like ours to continue on this path with our children learning and caring about nature."

"As residents of Tay Valley, the presence of Blueberry Creek Nature Centre in our community has been influential in our decision to stay and raise our young family in this area. The staff of Blueberry Creek have had a beautiful influence on our daughter. Their love of the children, this community and the natural world are truly inspirational. The Centre provides an invaluable service to our community and we hope the township does all it can to support it."

The forest school has literally been a life saver for our 11 year old. For the first time in his life he has been excited (and importantly) is up early and ready to go to school. He is upset for snow days (yes really!) and refuses to ever miss his forest school days. He gets to creatively apply his knowledge and skills daily and has dramatically less anger and apathy. Can't recommend (and thank) Robyn and Jess enough for this endeavour.

And Finally,

Blueberry Creek is critical to our community for a number of reasons - it connects kids to nature (a connection desperately lacking even in our rural community), teaches them life skills which our public school system no longer teaches, most importantly, it provides a safe, nurturing and creative education option for kids struggling in the public school system. As a person who grew up with undiagnosed and untreated learning disabilities who struggled terribly in school, it was experiences in learning such as the kind Blueberry Creek provides that enabled me to overcome my learning challenges and go on to attain a PhD in science and become a university professor. Our community NEEDS Blueberry Creek.

Sincerely,

Dr. Shelley Ball

But this was never an attack on me. This has been a municipality set on shutting down a children’s Nature Centre that supports the families and children of our community.

I invite all community members and families that have been affected by Blueberry Creek Nature Centre to please stand or raise a hand in support of a resolution.

(Face Community)

Thank you.