Parkwood Hills

Location

Central to this development is Meadowlands Drive to the north (some of the neighbourhood goes past north of Meadowlands to Baseline Road), bounded to the east by Fisher Avenue and to the west by Merivale Road. Image. It is in River Ward, and also in Knoxdale-Merivale Ward which was expanded in 2006. The councillor for River is Maria McRae, and for Knoxdale Merivale it is Keith Egli, replacing the perennial incumbent, Gord Hunter, who retired prior to the 2010 Municipal Election.

Before 1959

It is known that at least some of this land was farmland, since the Mulvagh farmhouse was here. The farmhouse was later taken over by the Parkwood Presbyterian Church. Farming was challenging in some respects, due to the Depression, animal predation and fire risk.

Development from 1959

Parkwood Hills is the name given to a residential development to the east of the section of Ottawa known as Nepean. One possible source for the name is Parkwood Hill, the fictional suburban setting for the 1948-1969 UK radio series Mrs Dale's Diary.

It is a mixed-dwelling suburb, having apartment blocks, townhouses and an assortment of single-family houses. The development is largely the work of the building company, Minto, which maintains ownership of many of the multi-residence buildings. The tract has been developed over the past half-century and is largely complete. The development was planned by architect John Russell in 1959. He was influenced by Californian community layouts and house models, but see Ottawa urban planning. The building took place between 1959 and 1972. In 1967 Minto built the first high-rise condominium development in Canada, called Horizon House, and located on Meadowlands Drive at Chesterton.

Suburban development flourished in the 1950s and '60s, with Ottawa companies, including Minto and Campeau Corporation building slews of suburban singles in Elmvale Acres, Parkwood Hills and similar areas, many of them in the 1,200-square-foot range.

Movie

The movie Parkwood Hills was made on location here in 2002 by Kolin Casagrande, who later produced The Walkers in 2004. It is a "short horror film, made as part of a project that assigned filmmakers to make short films with a horror theme," and was shown as part of a Halloween entertainment in Ottawa in 2007. Since the plot centres on the fears of a babysitter, it possibly falls into the horror-of-personality subgenre.

Schools

Public schools in Nepean are administered by Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (Parkwood Hills, Century, Sir Winston Churchill, and Merivale High School) . Catholic schools are administered by the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board(Frank Ryan and St. Rita). Amalgamation of some schools has been recently recommended, due to a fall in student numbers. Parkwood Hills Public School closed in 2010 after a low decline in students. Students afterwards went to Sir Winston Churchill.

Des Laurier High School has an active basketball team which played a friendly against the local police in May 2009. Parkwood Hills Public School won a Health Pennant from the Ministry of Health on 4 May 2007, and took part in the Who is Nobody program in 2009.

Childcare

Huron Towers Preschool/Kindergarten Child Care Center caters for 44 children. In 2010 the Child Care Center moved to a new, environmentally friendly building where it will cater for 47 children on Capilano Drive and Beaver Ridge. St. Luke’s Child Care Center also caters for 47 children . This center operates various childcare programs and outside visits.

Recreational

115th Parkwood Hills Scouts meets weekly from fall through spring, and holds meetings for Beavers, Cubs and Sea Scouts.

Churches

Parkwood Presbyterian Church in Chesterton drive was built in 1974, but its first service was held in Parkwood Hills Public School in 1964. Due to expansion in attendance, a congregation was formed in 1965, and the Mulvagh farmhouse - at the corner of Meadowlands and Chesterton - became the manse, with the congregation's first full-time minister. Between 1965 and 2009 there have only been three resident ministers. Fundraising then provided for the new church building.

Due to further growth of the congregation, an expansion fund was set up in the early 1980s. The old manse was renovated to become the Fellowship Centre in 1989, with a wheelchair ramp added in 1990. In 1996 the church building was expanded, and the congregation was involved in various missions in 1996 and 1998.

This is a church-going community which is surrounded by other neighbourhoods, so that the only church in Parkwood does not have a monopoly on the local faithful. For example, those with a different outlook can attend Trinity United Church in a neighbouring neighbourhood (located on Maitland Drive in Copeland Park), which mentions open minds and inclusivity on its website.

Amenities

This community includes parks, playgrounds, tennis courts and retail areas. A neighborhood bonfire takes place at Halloween.

Parks and sport

Parkwood Hills Recreation Centre is in Meadowland Mall, on Merivale Road.

General Burns park, named after E. L. M. Burns, contains an outdoor public swimming pool, 4 tennis courts, baseball field, soccer field and a children's play area. The General Burns Community Centre is in a 1950s log cabin, and offers recreational and community programs, which include pilates, taekwondo, 117th Company Pathfinders, 115th Parkwood Hills Scout group, Duffer Doo and Parkwood Hills Softball Association. In winter from mid-December the park operates an outdoor ice hockey rink and children's ice pad.

Parkwood Hills Softball Association operates youth and adult softball leagues, and holds charity tournaments. They award various trophies: the Neil Cohen Memorial Trophy, the Ron Potvin Memorial Trophy and the Junior Umpire Achievement Award.

Raoul Wallenberg park is named after the humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg.

Allotments and gardening

The Nepean Allotment Gardens on Viewmount comprise 200 plots.

Public transit

This is run by OC Transpo on the OC Transpo routes, and discussed at the Public Transit in Ottawa site. Buses run mainly on Meadowlands Drive, consisting of the regular routes, 86 and 111, and the commuter route, 57. Image.

Climate

The weather for Parkwood Hills is included in the Nepean weather forecast here. Canada climate data is here. Mini snowploughs are a not-uncommon sight. Image.

Native plants

This area is included in Ottawa's efforts to reinstate some of the native flora and wildlife habitat which has been displaced due to development. Domestic gardeners are encouraged to plant native species such as Solomon's seal and bloodroot, although many of them are already doing their bit to discourage invasive alien species (also described as non-indigenous, non-native, invasive and exotic) such as dandelion, Queen Anne's lace, buckthorn, garlic mustard and emerald ash borer.

Birds

Like many similar suburban neighbourhoods in this zone, Parkwood Hills is rich in gardens, shaded by mature trees and beautified with a wide variety of shrubs. This has created a habitat favoured by many species of birds, particularly those less nervous of living in close proximity with humans. In consequence, backyard birdwatching can be most rewarding for the suburban enthusiast. Birds to be found regularly in the area are grackles, cardinals, hummingbirds and chickadees. Image. Recently the Townsend's solitaire was found and photographed in Parkwood Hills by F. Ouellette-Streeting.

Wildlife

Common animals are eastern grey squirrels and skunks. There are two ways in which wildlife might be viewed here: as a control issue and as a recreational issue with conservation and education in mind. Deer can wander onto roads and into suburbs, so there is an annual Speeding Costs You…Deerly campaign for safe driving.