Shirt Tales

1. A community’s health and well being are directly connected to its ability to access adequate supplies of safe, clean water and to effectively treat any wastewater generated.
2. This, in turn, depends on putting in place the appropriate infrastructure.
3. A community’s watershed must also contain adequate quantities of ground and surface water and the capacity to absorb and assimilate wastewater discharges in order to establish and maintain a sustainable water use cycle.
4. Managing groundwater supplies with the understanding that they are inextricably linked to surface
   waters, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems.

• The provincial forecast is premised on 2001 population statistics of 624,828 total pop Waterloo-Wellington versus actual Stats Can totals of 651,000 = a difference of 25, 172 or overstatement of base population by 4%.
• GGH projects the following population increases in the urban watershed using 2001 base pop @780,000: +14% to 890,000 by 2011; +18% over 2011 to 1,049,000 by 2021; +17% over 2021 to 1,223,000 by 2031. Waterloo Region can expect to absorb most of this growth cf. % increases during this time frame: 15%, 18% and 17%.
  
• Recalculating these stats on a watershed basis produced the following numbers to describe the watershed's urban density expressed as pop/sq km with base year 2001 density at 111.99 persons/sq km: 127.78 (2011), 150.61 (2021), and 175.59 (2031).
  
• Using 20% of total watershed to calculate area to undergo intensification = 1,393 sq km of watershed @ 559.94 pop/sq km in 2001 base year provides this "growth" scenario: by 2011, 14% increase to 638.9 persons/sq km; by 2021, 235% increase to 1,873.41 pop/sq km; by 2031 another 242% increase to 1,914.20 persons/sq km.
• 2001 Stats Can figures provide the following comparison: Wellington County @ 2,657 (38% of watershed) had 70.5 pop/sq km density in 2001; Region of Waterloo @ 1,369 sq km (20% of watershed) had 320.4 pop/sq km density in 2001.
• City of Kitchener planning stats? in 2001, 187,990 pop over 133.23 sq km = 1,411 pop/sq km density.

Labels: Grand watershed, water

# posted by ramblingrose @ 3:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

1. the ecological footprint defined as “…the land (and water) area that would be required to support a defined human population and material standard indefinitely.”
   
2. carrying capacity defined as the “maximum population size of a given species that an area can support without reducing its ability to support the same species in the future.”
3. overshoot – “growth beyond an area’s carrying capacity, leading to crash" **
   

Labels: aboriginal, Grand watershed, land use, water

# posted by ramblingrose @ 9:53 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

1. Summer 2006 was the second-warmest since 1948 @ 1.4 degrees above normal (1998 hottest so far nationally) with Region 1.2 degrees above normal(1) with longer drier warm spells interspersed with severe storms* (2) & increased risk of flooding (3). In December 2006, GRCA issued a river safety advisory & noted Jul to Oct 06 was fourth wettest period in 66 years. (4)
2. 
   
3. In practical terms, cf. the news report of one heavy rainstorm in Cambridge September 2006 measured at 90mm/90minutes (total 3.5 inches) which flooded Groff Creek and washed out sidewalks. As well, a storm water management (SWM) pond failed. Grand River water levels surged five-fold during this flash rain storm. In 2005, a similar weather occurrence required repairs @ $140,000. ** (5) RR has no notes regarding winter 2006-07; two distinct memories: a) winter/ first real snowfall arrived late, in mid-January 2007; b) RR's constant weather worry was that insufficient snowfall would lead to a summer 07 drought.
   

Labels: climate change, Grand watershed

# posted by ramblingrose @ 1:19 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

• "In Ontario`s old barns and factories that are in need of dismantling, old, first and second growth hardwoods and softwoods become available for re-use in a number of ways....Timeless always has an inventory of timbers on hand, from the classic antique look of the hand-hewn barn beams, to structural douglas fir timbers from the factories which sometimes are found in sizes as large as 24" x 24"!...
• Handhewn timbers are very sought after today. The textured face showing the work of skilled axe men of a century and a half ago is hard to beat when used in a rustic retreat or new-home accents. Softwood
  Woods of our area such as White Pine, Red Pine, Tamarack, Spruce and Hemlock are common in these barns. Although lighter in weight than the hardwoods, they can be more desirable for structural purposes because of their natural tendency to have reduced exposure to insects - unlike hardwood such as maple or beech.
  Some barns provide very nice hardwood timbers. In many areas, the hardwood beams were the wood of choice because of availability. Some barns here have been found with every timber in Black Ash! Common is the Elm … known to the old timers simply as barn timber. Due to the onslaught of the Dutch Elm Disease years ago, the best supply of sizable Elm for products such as flooring is found mainly in the barns. Douglas Fir, Yellow Pine, White Pine and Hemlock are the woods derived from these structures. This timber is much sought after now. With it`s tight annual rings and rich salmon hue, Douglas Fir is reused in all kinds of projects; timber for timber-framing, flooring, trim-work, stair-parts, etc. A thought to consider when planning which type of timber to select for a project; unlike barn timbers, factory timber did not have pocketed joints and therefore are usually available in FULL timber form.....

  Rough Sawn
  Right from sawmill to building, showing the patterned effect of the mighty circular saw blade of years ago, rough sawn has a textured surface differing from the hand-hewn.Probably the most recognizable antique lumber product, barnboard can be found found in the basements of countless 1970`s renovations, this product could be the basis of many finished items from flooring to furniture. Typically found in two species types of softwoods, Pine and Hemlock. Each with their own character, but usually in an abundance of warm rich colours when the patina or inside face is hit with tongue or linseed oil. The exterior weathered gray face is a desirable look on its own, and sometimes the painted surfaces are perfect as is. But when you flip the wallboard around (if it has not been exposed to the weather), there you find the rough sawn texture, the saw markings and the rich patina that only years can give to a board. It`s great for furniture building. "
  From RR's notebooks, random jottings re this lost heritage:
  

• 
  
• "PEIL...advised that [its]client intended to renovate the exterior of the house and driveshed...supported in principle maintaining a continuous ridge with no new housing on the ridge...clarified that the barn on the Betzner property was to be removed. .... & [city staff] ....commented on the preservation of the Betzner house and the barn foundation."---Kitchener DTS report-03-120 dated 11 August 2003
• [JHS, owner of Schoerg barn] added that the request for expansion of the designation to include the floodplain lands is an indication that the City places greater significance on the lands. [He] added that staff have no plan for the barn and stated that, even if acquired, he believed the City would demolish the structure** given it intends to take similar action with a barn [i.e. the Betzner barn, photo above] on the adjacent subdivision." --City of Kitchener Council minutes 13 December 2004
• [City of Kitchener Director of Planning]: "When the demolition of the barn commenced, at that point I felt it was necessary to inform Council that, in our efforts to acquire ownership of the barn site, it was very possible that we would not find an appropriate use for the barn and might conclude that we would choose to remove the superstructure and retain the foundation as an 'interpretative feature' like a lookout comparable to what has been proposed with the Betzner barn on the adjoining property."--Dave Sim, Taking Down the Schoerg Barn, XEN 11 February 2005
• Council allocates $70,560 plus taxes to purchase Schoerg barn materials * from Timeless Materials in order to preserve heritage.-- City of Kitchener Council minutes 11 April 2005
  

Labels: barns, built heritage

# posted by ramblingrose @ 1:13 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

1. The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) put its spotlight on the barn issue* in the fall 2007 ACORN publication. Herewith a summary of key points made by Leanne Piper in her article, "Our Rural Cathedrals":
1. The loss of Ontario's heritage barns, silos, drivesheds, milk houses and farm houses can be attributed to these factors: age, urban sprawl, modernization i.e. intensification of agriculture, and the booming architectural salvage market ( hand-hewn timbers and barn boards)**
2. "Very few municipalities have by-laws or procedures to protect barns, etc....Demolition control by-laws generally exempt accessory or outbuildings and only a select few barns appear on municipal heritage registers in the province."
3. Essential reading: Eric Arthur & Dudley Whitney, The Barn (1972); Jon Radjokovic, Barn Building: The Golden Age of Barn Construction (2007); R$ L Sommer, The Ultimate Book of Historic Barns, Thunder Bay Press (2000);
   

• "Hand-hewn square logs, laid horizontally for walls, have dressed surfaces of more than a metre in height; massive timber beams can exceed 20 m (65 ft) in length. Boards used for siding can reach widths of 30 cm. or more." Current uses of this salvaged lumber? antique flooring, vintage siding, and exposed beams
  
• According to Wood Source, a salvage firm in Manotick, ON: "The demand is phenomenal; we're probably working on between 8 and 12 huge tractor-trailer loads full at a time. And they're heading to all points of the compass."
• the problem of maintaining an old wooden barns? According to Ashcroft, "barns...that held livestock during the winter ...the animals produced enough heat to prevent the ground from freezing. Without them, the annual freezing and thawing of the earth plays havoc with the older structures."

• "Migrating in a pre-nationalistic era, the Mennonites consciously intended to recreate their Pennsylvania lifestyle. In doing so they expressed in their built heritage an architectural legacy that distinguishes Waterloo from other areas of Canada....Although not entirely original as they were modifications of their European experience, distinctive landscape conventions were developed by Mennonites in Pennsylvania, and reproduced in Waterloo...Their barns followed in the pattern of their lesser buildings, taking advantage of the topography and contour of the land, with access to watercourses as important to them as a rigid regularity in the placing of their buildings. It has been suggested that the Mennonite farmsteads may be conceived of as consisting of four quarters, with the barn in the northwest, the manure yard in the southwest, the house in the northeast, and the garden in the southeast. This orientation served a distinct purpose. Wind and cold usually came from the north and west, southern and easterly orientations provided shelter and warmth."
• "Pennsylvania-German farms were also identified by the presence of large banked or vorebay barns...the Waterloo examples more likely date from a later period of the 1850's in Ontario. Sited on a natural sloe, the lower storey of these barns is usually of brick or stone. This storey was used to shelter the livestock and was entered at a lower level, while the upper section remained level with the higher ground. One side of the barn projected over the lower floor to form a forebay or forbau. Although now thought of as typically Pennsylvania-German, they had their origin in Saxony, Bavaria and Switzerland, and were also commonly built by German-speaking Roman Catholic and Lutheran immigrants arriving in Waterloo in mide-century. With the largest concentration of Pennsylvania or forebay bank barns in Ontario, this aspect of the community's historical tradition is a dominant feature of its built heritage.
  

1. Examples of local heritage barns: 1) City of Waterloo RIM Park Elam Martin Farmstead--German Mennonite Bank Barn; 2) City of Kitchener J. Steckle Heritage Homestead--German Mennonite Bank Barn; 3) City of Cambridge Cruickston stone slit barn ca 1860 (Scottish Full Stone Barn)
   
2. Notes: *most were built 1860-1910 when economy was still agrarian-based and experiencing economic prosperity; **locally Timeless Materials, an architectural salvage company, has located its sales centre in an extra large bank barn in North Waterloo.
   

Labels: barns, built heritage

# posted by ramblingrose @ 11:12 AM 0 Comments Links to this post