By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
The Agenda for Northern Bruce Peninsula’s July 24 Council Meeting includes a Report from MNBP’s Parks and Facilities Manager, indicating that the upgrade at Lion’s Head Arena is moving steadily forward. Interviews have been completed for a construction management firm and the selection committee will make a recommendation to Council on September 11.
The final design and specifications are expected to be in place by the end of this year and construction is scheduled to begin in April of 2024, with a completion date of April 2025.
Tobermory Daycare Construction
When Tobermory’s “new” school was planned, 35 years ago, it included two extra rooms, intended to be used as a daycare. The rooms were built but the daycare never happened, although the initiative remained on the books when Bruce County Board of Education rolled into Bluewater District School Board.
But it never came close to being built until this summer. Construction is underway although no completion date has been announced.
Beware of Wild Parsnip
Wild Parsnip is a member of the carrot family, a European weed which has become locally abundant in the Ira Lake/Stokes Bay area.
Wild Parsnip is not exactly poisonous — in fact you can eat it — but the plant’s juices will make your skin extremely light-sensitive, so much so that you can get a blistering sunburn in a matter of minutes. The sap is particularly dangerous if you get it in your eyes.
So weedwhackers beware! The first year plant is a rosette of leaves that look a lot like Italian parsely. The second year plant puts up a flower stalk two to five feet tall with two-to-five inch wide umbels of yellowish flowers.
The active chemical is an oil — it will wash off with warm water and soap and the blisters should stop forming at that point.
The worst patch of Wild Parsnip in MNBP was along Highway 6 a few km north of Ferndale, where it formed a yellowish wall four feet tall along both sides of the highway for several kilomeres.
MTO conducted a spray program this spring and the amount of Wild Parsnip has been dramatically reduced (see photos).
Attractions Less Crowded
A recent tourism report to MNBP Council suggested that as the pandemic recedes, we will see fewer people who just want to check our attractions off their personal lists and more visitors who are attracted to nature and space.The former group tend to be one-and-done visitors; the latter group tend to stay longer and are happy to visit the same places over and over.
The peninsula’s most popular attractions are not as crowded as they have been in recent years. It’s even possible for locals to visit them. Parking for the Grotto is generally available for the first and last time slots, except on weekends (but you still have to pay). Parking at McCurdy Street in Lion’s Head (access to Lion’s Head Lookout) can generally be booked for the next day (free for residents/cottagers with a parking pass). The lot fills up every day and attendants have to turn away about 30 cars on weekdays and a couple of hundred on weekends. Turnaways can park at the arena and take the shuttle bus back to McCurdy Street.
Parks “Locals Day” August 14
On Parks Canada’s “Locals Day” on July 14, about 50 carloads of “locals” took them up on the offer of free parking. The next “Locals Day” is Monday, August 14. Locals will get free access to Halfway Log Dump in the morning (7:00AM to 1:00PM) and the Grotto (Head of Trails) parking lot in the afternoon (1:00 to 5:00PM). Bring proof of residence or a municipal parking tag.
