WAVERLEY: A small gathering was held on Sept. 11 at McDonald Sports Park in Waverley to celebrate the installation of a new sign and dock.
The installations was a collaboration among several community groups and organizations, and one local business.
Last year, the Waverley Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA), McDonald Sports Park responded to a funding opportunity with the Shubenacadie Canal Commission under their “Transitions” program.
“As a result of that submission, they agreed to partner on the purchase and placement of a dock at the park, with the purpose of providing a beautiful natural starting point for exploration of the historic canal system,” said Mary McDaid, with the WAAA.
The WAAA in turn agreed to work together to develop some interpretative information (in the form of signage), to help park users better understand the history of the canal system, particularly that of our First Nations community, who have occupied parts of the waterway for 4000 years.
The sign was a collaboration between the WAAA and the SCC, and with the Waverley Heritage Museum who have recently completed a major Mi’kmaq exhibit .
“This was truly a community effort,” Councillor Cathy Deagle Gammon said.
One other local partner was Old Creel Canoe & Kayak in Fall River (across from the Vegetorium on Hwy 2), who provided the dock and placed it in the lake.
Deagle Gammon provided district capital funds for benches and picnic tables at McDonald Sports Park in Waverley. They were purchased from local social enterprise Lake City Works Plastics.
The Pilot Project name is Riverlakes Gateway to the Shubie Canal Waterway.
For more info on the Transitions program check out: https://www.shubenacadiecanal.ca/transitions
