Chilligo Creek and Schiedel Pond Cleanup with Tree Planting by Three Cambridge Rotary Clubs
With a call for action, members of all three Rotary Clubs in Cambridge responded, and arrived to help clean up the Chilligo Creek shoreline and Schiedel Pond area on April 29. With this response, Rotarians from the Rotary Clubs of Cambridge North, Cambridge Sunrise, and Preston Hespeler contributed lots of effort on a cloudy Saturday morning.
This effort cleaned lots of garbage, removed many weeds, and also involved planting more than 50 trees along the edge of Chilligo Creek. Other efforts were directed at pruning trees that were overgrown around the commemorative plaques at the pond.
The list of Rotarians helping out included Jennifer Clarke, Cambridge Sunrise; Rena Hawkins, Preston Hespeler; Sean Carragher, Cambridge North; Larry Brokenshire, Preston Hespeler; Donald Daggett, Cambridge North; Fred Schiedel, Cambridge North; Michael Lawrie, Cambridge Sunrise; Jeffrey Matyas, Cambridge North; and Dean Fitzgerald, Cambridge North.
This effort is a continuance of past contributions to help the creek and pond. When the dam failed in 2000, former President of Cambridge North Stephen Witteveen and other Rotarians became involved in the efforts to improve the area. This involvement took many forms, from sitting on the steering committee to fund raising. The goal was to raise sufficient funding to facilitate the excavation of the old mill pond, as a means to create a new pond as well as improve the creek shoreline. Other improvements included enhanced walking trails, tree planting, and shoreline stabilization.
Funds for these improvements came from varied sources, with the largest donations from GreenHorizons Group of Companies and Schiedel Construction, both owned by the Schiedel family. As a tribute for the volunteer time contributed by Cambridge North Rotarian Fred Schiedel along with the donated funds, the newly designed mill pond was renamed Schiedel Pond. Other funding contributors included the Hiff family, Stantec, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, City of Cambridge, Region of Waterloo, the Grand River Conservation Foundation, and the three Rotary Clubs of Cambridge.
With this long history, Rotarians in Cambridge were keen to continue their efforts to enhance the existing area around Chilligo Creek, Schiedel Pond, the trails, and the commemorative plaques.
Submitted by Dean Fitzgerald
Rotary Club of Cambridge North