Rouge Valley Conservation Centre

 

Robert Holland Interpretive Centre

In addition to the Rouge Valley Conservation Centre, the Rouge Valley Foundation also helped establish the Robert Holland Interpretive Centre in Phyllis Rawlinson Park in the Town of Richmond HIll. For their efforts they were awarded the Parks and Recreation Ontario - Parks, Environment and Open Spaces SIA Award of Excellence and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Town of Richmond Hill in 2007.

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Parks and Recreation Ontario - Parks, Environment and Open Spaces SIA Award of Excellence


Presented to Rouge Valley Foundation, the Upper Rouge Network Partnership Program, and Town of Richmond Hill, Parks, Recreation and Culture Department at the Presidents’ Luncheon and Awards Ceremony of Canada’s National Parks and Recreation Conference and Trade Show in September 2007.


This award is being given to the Rouge Valley Foundation, the Upper Rouge Network Partnership Program and the Town of Richmond Hill, Parks, Recreation and Culture Division for their joint effort to establish an interpretive centre in one of the town’s parks.


The historic “Shaw House” was donated to the Town in 1997 primarily through the efforts of Mr. Robert Holland, a resident of Richmond Hill and a member of the Rouge Valley Foundation. The project involved restoring and relocating the house, estimated to have been built between 1801 and 1834, and making it the focal point within Phyllis Rawlinson Park. Renamed the Robert Holland Interpretive Centre, it is the home base for a new generation of environmentally conscious youngsters who actively explore the natural world and get involved in environmental activities and outdoor education programs. Collaborations with community groups such as the Girl Guides, Scouts Canada and the Richmond Hill Naturalists have been created and schools from the Greater Toronto Area are making use of the Centre and the surrounding parkland.


Having the unique advantage of being positioned in the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine, the Centre provides opportunities for residents to participate in environmental studies, native studies, pioneer life, tree planting, trail maintenance, habitat construction and interpretive hikes. Historical displays within the Centre educate people on the history of the “Shaw House” and the Rawlinson family. Programs, run by the Parks, Recreation and Culture Department, continue to grow, while the park site itself is being developed through community efforts to plant indigenous vegetation, developing the wildlife habitat and enhancing the wetlands.


In 2006, a full-time Outdoor Education Assistant was hired, made possible through a grant from the Trillium Foundation. The vision is that the centre will become a community-wide asset for teaching and understanding what happens when humans interact with the environment and how to best accommodate sustainable growth. 



Source: Parks and Recreation Ontario

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