Preserve shoreline

The Farm has over 1 km of waterfront of waterfront, the place where the land meets the water. This area is the most ecologically important and usually supports the greatest diversity of animal and plant life. The waterfront draws people for spiritual and physical refreshment.  It is called “the ribbon of life” for a good reason.  

Save agricultural land

The Farm has been a small-scale farming operation for decades. Continuing to grow food on the Farm will contribute to food security in Kingston. We need to produce as much food as we can close to where we live.

Connect existing conserved lands

The Farm is “book-ended” by two adjacent open-space waterfront areas, the 337-acre Lemoine Point Conservation Area to the north and the 19-acre city-owned Weatherall waterfront fields to the east. Adding the 82 acres of the Farm will create 438 acres of conserved land within the City of Kingston.

Models for the importance of large-naturalized parks within urban areas:

High Park, Toronto = 398 acres

Stanley Park, Vancouver = 1,001 acres

Central Park, New York City = 843 acres

Protect biodiversity and species at risk

It is in everyone’s interests to support biodiversity by providing habitat for common species and species that scientists have identified as most vulnerable to extinction. Twenty-three species of conservation concern have already been identified in the Lemoine Point area. The Farm habitats need to be protected.

Several at-risk bird species rely on an ever-shrinking availability of grasslands to survive. The farm has for years provided acres of farmed grasslands that have allowed these species, including the bobolink and the meadowlark, to flourish.

Mitigate climate change impacts

Temperatures are rising. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. We need to conserve natural areas within the city  to protect us from the harshest consequences of climate change.

Promote community wellness

Green spaces are vital to our physical, mental, and spiritual health. We need nature.

This is the 3-30-300 rule for healthy cities:

• 3 — everyone should be able to see three decent-sized trees from their home
• 30 — a city should have 30% tree coverage
• 300 — everyone should live within 300 m of a park or green space

Honour Indigenous roots