What Is The Ecological Heritage Walking Tour
The Ecological and Heritage Walking Tour aims to reconnect the community with the Speed River and its surroundings. It provides an immersive and engaging experience, utilizing the knowledge and contributions of the local community to help residents and visitors understand the land they use daily.
The tour explores the history of Guelph, featuring notable landmarks such as the Boathouse, Gow’s Bridge, and the watershed. It also offers brief guides on identifying plants in the park, like pagoda dogwood, common buckthorn, and bittersweet nightshade, emphasizing their ecological roles. This experience fosters a deeper connection between community members and the environment.
The tour is intentional in its inclusivity, sharing stories of Indigenous peoples, the working class, the elites, and the animals around the river. It highlights community efforts and their tangible impacts, allowing guests to see and feel how collective action influences both their lives and the environment. The Speed River Project and Speed River Clean are showcased to demonstrate OPIRG and the community’s direct contributions to the river’s cleanliness and environmental health.
This tour is a testament to protecting the history and environment of the Speed River, symbolizing the transformation and growth of Guelph as a city.
Virtual Tour/Outline of the tour
The tour begins at the start of the boathouse. In 1876, the first boathouse was constructed at this site, with boat rentals beginning in 1879, providing new recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Originally known as Johnston’s Boathouse, it became home to the Speed River Canoe Club between 1895 and 1900, then the town’s most active social group with 250 members. By the 1930s, the current building had become a lively social venue, hosting big band dances and events by the Variety Club. From 1941 to 1993, it served as the home of the Navy League and Sea Cadets. In 1997, the boathouse underwent significant restoration, was designated, and a partnership with the city led to its operation as an ice cream parlor and tea room, preserving its legacy and giving it new purpose.
The tour continues past the bridge where the Speed and Eramosa Rivers meet. As attendees walk along the Royal Trail, they can observe the confluence of the rivers, alongside the surrounding concrete structures and trees. While they are walking down, guests are made aware of the fact that they are walking on top of a landfill: the city purchased the farm in 1910, using it as a landfill. This led to pollution concerns as chemical toxins leached into the river. Efforts to stabilize the area include naturalization planting.
Walking down the trail – one of the first landmarks guests will see is the Sacred Fire. Sacred fires are integral to Indigenous cultures, embodying centuries-old traditions that emphasize healing, unity, and spiritual connection. These fires serve multifaceted roles, ranging from initiating sacred rituals to fostering community gatherings. Central to their significance is their role as spiritual conduits, opening pathways for communication with ancestors and the spirit world. Firekeepers, traditionally men in many Indigenous communities, bear the responsibility of constructing and tending these fires, ensuring they remain attended at all times to uphold their sacredness.
As the tour moves past the sacred fire, guests will encounter a sign installed by OPIRG in the 1990s. This sign provides information about the history of Guelph and the significant events that shaped the city’s development. Some events include Peter Gow buying land at the site and establishing a water-powered tannery in 1844. In 1854, some of that area was surveyed and subdivided into small lots for workers’ residences, forming the “Brooklyn subdivision”. In April 1929, a major flood devastated downtown businesses and homes along Water Street. To prevent future flooding and provide jobs during the Depression, the river channel was deepened and stone walls were built between 1930 and 1934. This channelization removed islands and wetlands but increased flood risk downstream and negatively impacted fish habitats by reducing habitat diversity and stability.
“The House of Heads,”It was built around 1858 by Matthew Bell, a stone carver and mason who was the “head” of the building’s construction and is associated with the house. “The House of Heads” due to the eight near life-size carved stone heads on the northeast elevation.The house is a designated heritage building and was built from local limestone.
As you walk down you’ll notice some plants along the way including: Silver Maple. The Silver Maple is a fast-growing tree found along water bodies, often becoming hazardous at maturity, prompting replacement efforts by the City of Guelph. The Northern Catalpa, native to the Mississippi River valley, is popular for its ornamental value and use in fishing bait. The White Pine, Ontario’s official tree, is notable for its height and historical significance. The Burr Oak is adaptable and includes remnants of a tree present at Guelph’s founding, with new trees planted to replace old ones. The Manitoba Maple, an invasive species with compound leaves, is resilient but often considered a weed. Common Buckthorn, another invasive species from Europe, forms dense thickets and spreads rapidly due to birds dispersing its berries.
As you cross the road to get to the other side of the trail, you will walk past Gow’s bridge. By 1850, Guelph had become a key milling and agricultural hub, with access primarily via the Guelph-Dundas Road (now Gordon Street/Brock Road), which had several toll gates. In 1852, a toll increase led to hardships for flour dealers and teamsters. To alleviate this, the Town Council authorized the construction of Gow’s Bridge, initially a wooden structure named after Peter Gow, a prominent local figure. In 1897, the wooden bridge was replaced by a stone arch bridge, built from local limestone. This bridge, one of only ten stone bridges remaining in Ontario and protected by Heritage Guelph, has “1930” engraved on its river wall.
On the other side of the trail you’ll see, Norway Maple is commonly planted along streets for its salt tolerance and dense foliage, but its invasive nature raises concerns about its impact on native biodiversity. In urban areas like Guelph, it, along with Manitoba Maple, dominates spontaneous regeneration. The Red Pine, native to southeastern Canada, is used for erosion control and windbreaks, with distinctive reddish-orange plates on its mature bark. Staghorn Sumac was historically used by Indigenous peoples for a scurvy-preventing drink and by tannery workers for its tannin-rich bark. The Norway Spruce, introduced from abroad, has stiff, evergreen needles and produces large cylindrical cones. Cedar trees, hardy and quick to colonize cleared areas, are known for their seed dispersal by birds and the flavorful tea brewed from their leaves.
Walking until you reach the watershed you will come across a sign detailing all of the important information the watershed provides. After reading you will understand that The Speed River, drains over 775 square kilometers and stretches 63 kilometers from Orton to its confluence with the Grand River in Preston, serves as a critical water source. The Guelph Lake Reservoir was created to dilute sewage discharge and manage water flow, ensuring safe drinking water and preventing flooding.
Walking up to Edinburgh Road, you will be interested to know that historically, the river had ten islands and a second channel until the 1950s and 60s, with significant changes including the filling of the northern braid to create Wellington Street. Manor Park, once the home of Arthur Wells, was purchased in 1911 by Mr. Winger, who envisioned it as an elite club with an airstrip showing how truly large some of the islands could be. Additionally, the Springbank Brewery, established in 1903 by George Sleeman, was located south of the current tall white apartment building and closed in 1916 due to Prohibition. All of these initiatives indicate how booming the business was on this side of the river.
After turning at Edinburgh road to the other side of the river, you will arrive at Pond Creek. At Pond Creek, an informative sign highlights the naturalization, river rehabilitation, and ongoing Speed River Project efforts. The planting of native trees and shrubs along the Speed River enhances habitats and cools the water by providing shade. Historically, Pond Creek likely meandered more naturally, but it now emerges abruptly from a concrete channel beneath Wellington St., having been redirected underground due to urbanization. This transformation reflects the need to accommodate city development, including roads and residential areas. The recent construction by the city of Guelph, including a bridge and small waterfall features, was urgently undertaken to prevent sewage contamination, which threatened local ecosystems.
Ensuring clean water through closed sewage systems is essential for protecting the river’s ecological health and supporting diverse wildlife habitats.
Walking along this side of the river bank you will come across Common Chokecherry, a native shrub in Ontario, thrives in diverse habitats and is valued for its spring flowers and late summer fruit, which attract wildlife and were historically used by Indigenous peoples. Bittersweet Nightshade, an invasive vine, poses ecological threats by outcompeting native plants but has had medicinal uses historically. Similarly, invasive bush honeysuckles, introduced as ornamentals, now aggressively spread in Ontario, displacing native vegetation and reducing biodiversity. Field Bindweed, another invasive species from Europe and Asia, competes with crops and challenges agriculture, despite providing food for pollinators. Conservation efforts focus on controlling these invasive species to preserve native biodiversity and ecological balance.
Crossing the road on the lime stone bridge again you will see a garden planted by the city. The garden contains drought-tolerant perennial plants, most of which are native to the region. Examples of some of the plants growing in the garden are spiderwort, New England aster, gray-headed coneflower, wild bergamot, tall coreopsis, purple coneflower, hoary vervain and golden Alexander. This garden is vital as all across the country, native pollinators are decreasing. Increasing the habitat for these pollinators is important for their survival and for ours. Some of the pollinators that are attracted to the plants in this garden are tiger swallowtail butterflies, monarch butterflies, American painted lady butterflies, great spangled fritillary butterflies, bumble bees, leaf cutter bees, paper wasps, mason wasps, hummingbird moths and many types of flies.
Reaching the end of the tour, you will see a cool and fascinating sculpture. Garbasaurus, a sculpture created by Greg Elliott from local scrap materials, symbolizes Guelph’s community dedication to environmental conservation, commemorating the 20th annual Speed River Cleanup organized by OPIRG in 1999. Standing over 6 feet tall and weighing 647 lbs, it represents the amount of trash removed during the inaugural cleanup in 1979. This is a result of the Speed River Clean up. The Speed River cleanup, which began in 1979, initially focused on debris removal but shifted towards preventing pollution after realizing that some waste served as habitats for aquatic species. This shift emphasizes sustainable practices to promote river health and encourage proactive environmental stewardship.
As you near the boathouse again, the tour is complete. Thank you for joining us on the virtual tour!