Lands for Life and Advocacy for Creation

Hills, Killarney AY Jackson

The content of one blog prompts another. Yesterday I noted that the McMichael Gallery has an exhibit of the work of JEH MacDonald, a member of the Group of Seven painters. When we lived in Sudbury I was a member of the Friends of Killarney Park board and several of us who lived in the Near North (others were from Southern Ontario) would meet in my church study to work on projects, including the first edition of the canoe guide for the park.



In 1997 the Friends also worked in conjunction with parks management to make a presentation to the Lands for Life Roundtable, created by the Ministry of Natural Resources, which was planning for both the protection and use of Crown lands in Ontario. Each stakeholder, which included everyone from individuals to tourism outfitters to environmental groups to mining and forestry interests were given ten minutes for a presentation. The events were a big deal in cities such as Sault St. Marie and Sudbury, even though most people in the south didn't know anything about them, and industries bussed in workers to be part of the audience. Hey, what happens to 39 million hectares of land is a big deal.


 Grace Lake F Carmichael at work

I was asked to make the presentation to the Roundtable, seeking a buffer zone around Killarney Park which would allow for greater biodiversity and protection for various species. Killarney is Ontario's southernmost wilderness park, but it isn't all that big. I did present, using information provided by park staff, as well as showing images of paintings by Group of Seven members who had worked in Killarney. The popular OSA Lake is named after the Ontario Society of Artists, of which AY Jackson and Franklin Carmichael were members.

I'm happy to say that my October 1997 presentation was almost exactly ten minutes and the images of paintings were a hit as I made my final pitch for protection. And, yes, that area was eventually designated, thanks to some concessions from forestry companies. 

 I have a lot of meaningful memories of ministry and this is one of the most important, even though it was supposedly around the edges of how we would usually define God's work.
Caring for Creation is always God's work, isn't it?


Frood Lake Franklin Carmichael