Help Us Restore 500 Acres of Parkland to the Moraine

In February, a proposal was unveiled to create a 500-acre park on land to the southeast of CDS. This proposal, while celebrated, still requires extensive support from the provincial government to become a reality.
 
The week before March Break, two Grade 9 students, Kate Shepherd and Kennedy Ryan, joined Head of School John Liggett for a meeting with the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Chris Ballard. The two students delivered an insightful message on how CDS and the local community would benefit if the proposed “East Humber Headwaters Park” were to proceed. The students’ support was greatly appreciated, but the project needs to maintain pressure on the Ontario government moving forward in order to make this happen.
 
The outcome of this debate is very uncertain and rests with the Ontario government’s inclination and willingness to help preserve this ecological gem. The current landowner has agreed to work with the provincial government to exchange the property for a similarly sized plot of less ecologically sensitive land outside of the Oak Ridges Moraine, thereby allowing the land near CDS to become the proposed park.
 
In this morning’s Senior School assembly, both Kate and Kennedy explained the issue to their fellow students and made this plea: “We have a wonderful opportunity at CDS to actually create a provincial park here in King, just southeast of our school, that we can all enjoy.” They then encouraged their classmates to fill out the attached Earthroots postcard or contact their MPP in favour of a provincial park.
 
As a school, we will continue to put pressure on the government from every angle to preserve our “country” feel. Our Junior School students are writing handwritten letters to the relevant Ministers in their Outdoor Education classes, as well as our Grade 9 Green Industries classes and Grade 11 Environmental Science students.
 
As a community, the more handwritten letters (more impactful than postcards) to our MPPs that we can generate, the more likely we are to make the East Humber Headwaters Park a reality and ensure that the beautiful country setting is restored and protected.
 
As parents of our students, we would like to bring two items to your attention.
 
The first is a link to the Toronto Star op-ed piece that ran under the signatures of the Mayor Of King, the York Regional Chair, the Chair of the TRCA and the Deputy Mayor of Toronto the first week of March. Please circulate as you see fit.
 
The second is the attached PDF of a postcard which Earthroots, a Toronto based grassroots conservation organization, distributed throughout the King area over March Break. Both do an excellent job explaining the importance of preserving this land and may give you more background for writing your letter.
 
Please do your part for CDS students now and years to come. Thank you
 
 Balance and Innovate
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Land Acknowledgment

CDS wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. For thousands of years, these have been the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We also recognize the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee peoples who also shared this land.  CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for these lands and waters for future generations.

School Information

13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5 
(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.