A Shared Vision
In 2002, Harold Parker and Tony Guergis had a shared vision: to repurpose a closed landfill site and create a county-wide gathering place to celebrate history, education and culture.
The site, known to Harold from childhood, is located at George Johnston Road in Springwater Township and offers an amazing vista of some of Simcoe County’s most prized features: Minesing Wetlands, Georgian Bay, ski hills and trails. The site also sits amongst land occupied by indigenous people for thousands of generations.
In 2005, the County granted approval for development of a proposal to utilize the site, subject to Ministry of the Environment Approval. Full approval from the Ministry was announced in the fall of 2017.
A working committee of like-minded people was formed to continue to move forward on the vision of Harold and Tony.
The vision for the site included an opportunity to speak to the entire history of this place: thousands of years of usage by indigenous nations, the colonization of the area by Europeans and a new paradigm of cooperative development