The greenhouse at Couchiching Beach Park is called the Dr. Seymour Conservatory Greenhouse. This greenhouse along with another greenhouse located at the James Street Municipal Operations Centre are working greenhouses that support the city’s horticulture program and yearly plant production.
The greenhouse is nearly 40 years old and is in a significant state of decline according to City staff: a leaking structure, a cracked foundation, failing mechanical equipment, and a non-functional venting system.
In 2015 Council approved a capital project of $1.25 million to demolish and reconstruct the building. An architectural firm was retained and a design for a new greenhouse that used the local Fishing Weirs as an inspiration for the form of the structure. The proposed design was described as a four-season attraction that would be both interactive and interpretive, exploring the natural, human and horticultural heritage of the site and providing interpretive signs, guided tours, educational programs and workshops for visitors.
However, when the project tender closed a couple of weeks ago, bids came in between $4.3 million and $8.2 million for the project.
The price was much higher than anticipated due to a number of factors, according to City staff: the highly custom building, the service requirements, the landscape works required, the amount of time that had passed since the design plans were created, and the impact of the C19 pandemic on the cost of construction.
Based on a capital budget shortage of over $3 million, council agreed to cancel the current project and approved $100,000 to fund a redesign of the greenhouse.
Our thoughts
It’s a shame that we don’t currently have a public-access community greenhouse with educational and cultural programming, nor do we have the political will to create one anytime soon. According to the staff report, no community consultation has occurred and none is planned in the proposed redesign. In fact, staff recommended to council to re-scope the project (translation: remove the public-access, educational component in favour of a closed production facility).
It’s important to note that the greenhouse was originally donated to the City of Orillia by Dr. W. Melville Seymour, D.D.S. and Mrs. Leona Seymour, who requested that the greenhouse be inscribed and dedicated to the people of Orillia and surrounding area. The use of the greenhouse as a closed production facility for City staff for decades does not seem to reflect their wishes for a peoples’ greenhouse.
Community growing initiatives in Orillia have been chronically underfunded and under resourced for decades. As population density in Orillia increases, public spaces to engage residents in growing and learning about plants and horticultural is crucial, and a community greenhouse provides us a year-round opportunity. We must re-envision our municipal horticulture to encourage residents to participate safely, joyfully and efficiently. Imagine what our city could look like and the benefits if we facilitated the participation of the hundreds (or thousands) of horticulturalists across our city?
What is the value of Orillia’s current horticultural program? The priority seems to be planting non native, annual, ornamental flowers and shrubs around the City, for purely aesthetic purposes.
The city may find significant savings (and beauty) by naturalizing the labour and resource intensive annual flower beds with native perennial plants that can also improve habitat, biodiversity and other ecological benefits. Through signage and community engagement these native plantings can help achieve the educational and cultural “landmarking” proposed in the 1.25 million dollar facility. In collaboration with Indigenous peoples, welcoming and celebrating native flora and fauna to our park(s) rather than spending taxpayer dollars to exclude them, could be another step towards reconciliation
Have your say!
If you agree, talk to your councillor and tell them you want to see a public horticulture program that is community engaged and prioritizes native, edible and medicinal plants that meets the needs of our city.
Orillia City Council emails:
dmcisaac@orillia.ca
dcampbell@orillia.ca
wsmith@orillia.ca
rcipolla@orillia.ca
lleatherdale@orillia.ca
jczetwerzuk@orillia.ca
jfallis@orillia.ca
jdurnford@orillia.ca
tlauer@orillia.ca
To read more details about the greenhouse, view the staff report here (starts on page 26).