North Bay resident Dick Tafel has been recognized for his work building a natural legacy for future generations, and his tireless efforts in establishing a nature preserve in the city.
Tafel is a winner of the Steve Hounsell Greenway Award from Ontario Nature for the instrumental role he played in the establishment of Laurier Woods – a 240-acre natural area in North Bay.
"It's extraordinary and pleasant to be recognized," Tafel told BayToday. "Those that have been to Laurier Woods know it's an oasis in the middle of the city. Lots of people use it all the time, so it's great to be recognized as having been a big part of the development of that."
Laurier Woods is an extraordinary piece of land in the city, being easy to reach and containing a large variety of habitats, different species of birds, flowers, and trees.
"It's a very pleasant, enjoyable spot," Tafel says.
This jewel of a sanctuary wouldn't exist if not for the illegal destruction of a beaver dam back around 1985.
As Tafel recalls the pond was owned by a private citizen, but the City owned the surrounding property that was home to a beaver dam that maintained the water level.
Wanting to drain the pond for future development, the owner illegally destroyed the dam with a backhoe, much to the surprise of the City, which itself was exploring using the property for commercial development.
Tafel was very involved with the Naturalists Club at the time which realized the potential of leaving the site in a natural state.
"We were lucky to be able to get that idea materializing," remembers Tafel. "Rather than persecute the guy, it was Mayor Jack Burrows who said 'Whey don't we try to buy the property for a good price,' so we did!"
That was the first acquisition.
Four local groups, including the Conservation Authority and newly incorporated charity Friends of Laurier Woods Inc. combined to raise the money. The two now jointly own the property.
"It was kind of amazing. It was a combination of things that worked out."
The parking lot was unexpectedly obtained from Tembec.
"I can still remember when the parking lot was first suggested it was thought that maybe they would donate it, and lo and behold they said 'Ya, we'll give it to you.' They gave it to the City who in turn transferred it to us."
Tafel is keen to point out that the success of Laurier woods has been a group effort.
"Most of the trails were done by individuals. The gravel and wood shavings were mostly brought in by one or two people by wheelbarrow, believe it or not. Various members of the board got involved, Golly, I think we've now got 12 to 15 kilometres of trails that go all the way up to Jenning's Lake."
Tafel is particularly proud that this property will be public forever, and out of reach of government or developers.
"It's not going to be sold by an individual or even owned by a government agency which could decide they want to use it for something else. The two groups that are the joint owners aren't going to let it go."
And even though Tafel is approaching 90 years of age, he still leads public bird walks in his beloved Laurier Woods.
