Steve Hardaker
Community Correspondent
Stooping and scooping just got a little more convenient for pet owners in the Niagara on the Green neighbourhood of Glendale.
This is because late last week the town partnered with Walker Industries installing new dog waste stations in the neighbourhood’s three public parks.
Dog waste stations have been installed in the main neighbourhood park as well as the parkette on Cole Crescent and the parkette opposite Griffith Gate.
The idea came from longtime resident Scott Maxwell.
He in turn promoted his idea first with Walker Industries, which agreed to fund the project and then with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, which approved the waste stations and installed them in the parks.
Maxwell, who is a volunteer firefighter with the town, explained why he felt this was a worthwhile endeavour.
“This started out of a desire to keep the park clean for the annual Easter egg hunt, which is organized by Station 5 in Glendale.”
“Because we have three different age groups, the youngest being up to two years, they are crawling around. Our firefighters would come out first and clean the ground, removing any droppings.”
That led to his idea of having dog waste stations installed in the park.
“From that, I had a great conversation with some of the folks at Walker Industries and met Darren Fry. We did a bit of research and found out this was pretty plausible and that we could put this together with a little bit of support from the town.”
Fry, a project director with Walker Industries, said he and Maxwell met at a social gathering where they chatted about the Niagara on the Green neighbourhood.
“Walker has a long history of supporting communities where it has operations and Scott had explained he had this idea that will benefit the neighbourhood and is there an opportunity to work together on it?”
“We collaborated and came up with a solution that would involve the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Walker.”
“So here we are today installing some dog waste stations so that way waste is managed appropriately.”
“And we went the extra step and ensured they were compostable bags,” he said.
Also in attendance for the waste station installations was J.B. Hopkins, the town’s parks supervisor, who praised Maxwell, stating, “We are just grateful for Scott’s recommendation of an enhancement that will improve the experience of park users.”
“And then, of course, of Walker Industries and their financial support for this project. “
“We are very interested in environmental sustainability and this is a measure to head in that direction.”
Maxwell said it will be a two-year pilot project in Niagara on the Green. “Volunteers are needed to check on the bags and replace them when needed so as not to place the burden on town staff.”
“If successful,” he said, “we can approach the town and Walker and maybe down the road, we can roll this out in the other communities in Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
Steve Hardaker has lived in the Niagara on the Green neighbourhood in Glendale for over 13 years and is active in several community organizations.
