New green spaces allotted to urban park

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Among the by-laws passed by Uxbridge council on Monday were four conveying certain parcels of land to the Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park.

One parcel is a strip of land that curves around the industrial park just south of urban Uxbridge. It was set aside from the

industrial land as an environmentally sensitive area. The strip was declared surplus by council lst August.

Two trail parcels between Wagg Road and Concession 7 will also be added to the green space in the near future. They were declared surplus in January 2025.

A trail connector to the Secord Tract was declared surplus in June 2025.

In September, Ontario Parks indicated they would begin exploring the feasibility of acquiring these parcels for the new Uxbridge provincial park with the goal of eventually having a seamless network of trails and green space to connect with the Rouge Park.

In keeping with the theme of nature, Uxbridge was urged to remain bird friendly. Carly Davenport of Bird Friendly Uxbridge appeared before council to ask for the township's support for renewal of Nature Canada's three-year Bird Friendly certification. Uxbridge received the certification in 2024 but needs to renew it in 2027. Davenport said to obtain recertification, Bird Friendly Uxbridge needs a motion of support from council.

During her presentation, Davenport said to receive certification, a municipality has to show it is working towards reduction of threats to birds, protecting habitat and educating the community. An example of this would be the yellow bird diverters that can be found on the wires above the road next to Elgin Pond.

Council voted to pass the presentation to staff for a report.