Macoun Marsh is lucky to exist at all -- it used to be part of a larger wooded area that flanked the southeastern end of the cemetery, an area which has since been lost forever to the increasing intensity of urban development within the city of Ottawa. The marsh was saved by the dedicated efforts of the students of the St-Laurent Academy, under the tutelage of teacher Mike Leveille and with the aid of the Beechwood Cemetery. It has since served as their research project, an 'outdoor classroom', and has won several awards for its unique efforts to preserve biodiversity within an urban space.
Many educational plaques line the trail:
I am personally very grateful to the efforts of these students and Mr. Leveille; I believe conserving small patches of truly natural land such as this one within the city is vital to the health, well-being, and harmony of us all, along with conserving valuable islands of habitat for rare species. The tranquility of these microcosms within the noise, smoke, and stress of the urban world is priceless. In my photos, I tried to capture the essence of that essential peace.
Prints of some of these are available on my deviantart page for any who are interested: http://phoenixjackson.deviantart.com/
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