Community Manor Park Community Association

‘Depaving’ project adds greenspace to Yule Manor

By Wes Smiderle

Community volunteers replaced asphalt in areas of Yule Manor Housing Co-op with grass, gardens and seating spaces.
On a weekend in June, volunteers from the community gathered in Yule Manor Housing Co-op to tear asphalt and replaced it with native plants. A seating area was also added. Photo: Doug Banks

Earlier this summer, Manor Park residents teamed up with an environmental group to transform unused stretches of asphalt into verdant patches of greenery.

Over a weekend in June, volunteers from the community worked with Ottawa group EnviroCentre to remove crumbling asphalt from two areas at the Yule Manor Housing Co-op.

The pre-cut, square slabs of asphalt were hauled off by volunteers and replaced with rich soil. Area residents then began diligently planting a wide variety of native plants and flowers.

Spade in hand, Manor Park resident Daggy Brunst was among those heaving slabs and planting flowers. “It’s nice to get ride of the asphalt,” she said during the June event. “We don’t need it.”

The EnviroCentre worked with the Manor Park Community Association and Manor Park Community Council in consultation with Yule Manor representatives, who selected sites for the process.

The two sites that were chosen as best-suited for “depaving” were:

  • two sections of asphalt covering essentially unused space between the end of Claremont Dr. and Alvin Heights Park, and
  • a narrow, roughly 10-metre strip bordering a parking lot off the south end of London Terr.

Re-greening paradise

Ripping up hard surfaces and replacing them with greenspace might seem like a simple concept but it’s also a significant one. The cumulative environmental impact of asphalt can be enormous.

According to Emily Amon of Green Communities Canada (GCC), hard surfaces can:

  • prevent rainwater from soaking into the ground, which increases flood risk and channels pollution into rivers and lakes, and
  • contribute to the “heat island” effect (i.e., sunlight increasing the temperatures of urban spaces by several degrees).

In turn, replacing the asphalt with greenery and gardens can also modestly reduce local food insecurity while elevating all of the mood and mental health benefits associated with having a generally improved and beautified environment.

Depaving Paradise is an initiative of the GCC, a national group whose mission is to, according to its website, “connect community-based climate action groups through a national network to share resources, co-create innovative programming, and elevate our collective impact.”

That’s basically what happened with the Yule Manor project. It was one of 15 “depaving” projects the GCC managed across the country that spring, and the fourth in Ottawa. Since the project’s inception in 2012, 80 sites have been “depaved”. Most projects involved the removal of asphalt, but some involved concrete.

According to Emily, the cost of each project is about $20,000. About $15,000 of that amount is covered by grants while the other funds are derived from local donations.

EnviroCentre coordinated the work needed locally. This included hiring contractors to cut the asphalt into square pieces that could be carried off, arranging for bins to be rented to transport and eventually recycle the asphalt, providing equipment to volunteers and prepared a plan for the site.

In 2019, EnviroCentre coordinated three Depave Paradise projects in Ottawa, including sites at Elgin Street Public School, École élémentaire publique Marie-Curie, and on Pontiac St. between Carleton Ave. and Cowley St.

Over 80 native plants were introduced into the Yule Manor sites, including:

  • Purple coneflower
  • Black chokecherry
  • Oxye (false sunflower)
  • Eastern red columbine
  • Blazing star
  • Fly honeysuckle
  • Smooth rose
  • Red Osier Dogwood
  • Other native & perennial plants (donated by community members)
Sections of asphalt were pre-cut by contractors. Afterward, volunteers used pry bars to lift them loose and toss them into bins. The asphalt was later recycled. Photo by Doug Banks
Sections of asphalt were pre-cut by contractors. Afterward, volunteers used pry bars to lift them loose and toss them into bins. The asphalt was later recycled. Photo: Doug Banks
The stretch of asphalt was replaced with soil and a variety of native plants, including purpose coneflower, black chokecherry, eastern red columbine and others. Photo by Doug Banks
The stretch of asphalt was replaced with soil and a variety of native plants, including purpose coneflower, black chokecherry, eastern red columbine and others. Photo: Doug Banks
Soil and plants were donated by local companies and volunteers from the community. Photo by Doug Banks
Soil and plants were donated by local companies and volunteers from the community. Photo: Doug Banks
Ayman was among area residents who volunteered to remove asphalt in Yule Manor Housing Co-op and replace it with green space, improving the area for everyone. Photo by Wes Smiderle
Ayman was among area residents who volunteered to remove asphalt in Yule Manor Housing Co-op and replace it with green space, improving the area for everyone. Photo: Wes Smiderle