Polka Dot Poems

The National Capitol Commission defines cultural landscape as:

"a set of ideas and practices, embedded in a place."

Cultural Landscapes encompass the intangible and the tangible. The concept of cultural landscape pushes our preconceived concepts of heritage conservation beyond historical buildings, forcing us to explore the patterns and relationships that create our sense of place.

Poetry communicates the intangible and the tangible, by weaving images of the tangible to invoke intangible emotions between the author and the reader. In this way, poetry has the unique ability to create a shared sense of place.

High Park is a poetry hot spot

The Toronto Public Library has developed a website, called the Toronto Poetry Map. The project was spearheaded by George Elliot Clark, Toronto's Poet Laureate. It explores the ideas and patterns embedded in the city. The visitor to this website can select a location on the map which links them to poems associated with that location. The Toronto Poetry Map is a fun interactive tool. It allows the public to explore aspects of their city's cultural landscape that are easily missed.

To document associative cultural landscape requires diverse approaches and documentary styles. Cultural landscape researchers rely on literary works, landscape painting and cognitive maps to link a location to related stories and beliefs. Poetry Maps are a type of cognitive map. Researchers in environmental psychology, city planning, law enforcement, and tourism use cognitive maps to reveal human knowledge of sensory experiences.

Pairing poems with their referenced location reveals how our interactions with our city shape us.

The City is about stories

Yours, mine, what we want to hear

Look, Listen, Linger

The City is for People By: Honey Novick

Published in: Beatniks and Other Sacred Voice

The excerpts of poems, on The Toronto Poetry Map, are linked to where you can borrow the poetry book from the library.  

Thorold's Twilight Zone

Intrepid citizen scientists enter The Twilight Zone to find Chimney Swift's roosting sites.

The Chimney Swift is a tiny bird with a sleek silhouette, shaped like a Cuban cigar. It is built to fly nimbly, maneuvering over rooftops, fields, and rivers to catch tiny insects. Its curving wings and shallow wing beat gives it a distinctive fluid movement.

Most of its life is spent in the air, as it cannot perch like other birds. When it lands, it has to clings to a vertical surface. Once, their habitat would have been in hollow trees or caves. However, these natural habitats are becoming scarce. During the twentieth century, these indigenous birds have adapted and now live in chimneys. Sadly, the species has recently suffered sharp decline. This is due to the fact that chimneys have fallen out of architectural vogue. As a result, Chimney Swifts have become a species at risk. An article in the St. Catharines Standard states that,

"Over the past 40 years, the population of these birds has dropped by 96% across Canada. There are only about 8,000 of them left in Ontario, mainly in the Greater Toronto Area."

Image from Bunch Family

There is little known about the local habits of these enigmatic little birds. Given that they are now a species-at-risk, it is essential to understand their habits. Having this factual basis of knowledge will allow urbanites to better accommodate their avian neighbor’s needs in a shared urban landscape.

Gathering this type of knowledge is the task of Citizen Scientists. They are an enthusiastic group of individuals, who contribute their time, effort, and resources toward scientific research. To be a Citizen Scientist does not require a formal scientific background. Bird Studies Canada, a not-for-profit organization, uses volunteer chimney swift surveyors for its Ontario SwiftWatch Project.

Last summer, a gaggle of my friends stopped at a variety store to get Slurpees and spend a summer evening observing the rooftops of downtown Thorold. Chimney Swifts were nearly impossible to follow. Soaring high and out of sight, they were often heard before they were seen. The best time to observe Chimney Swifts is at twilight when they prepare to roost for the night. It was a wonderful experience to observe these tiny ambassadors of nature within a heritage urban setting.

Geneva's Secret Garden

Art exhibit at a local school named after Harriet Tubman.

I have driven down Geneva Street, in St. Catharines, a thousand times. But it is not until you take a stroll along the sidewalk that you appreciate the layers of history that the street displays. My favorite neighbourhood of Geneva Street is between Welland Avenue and Church Street. This area represents several eras. Each building style speaks to the priorities of the time period when it was built. Many of the businesses I frequent such as my health food store, hairdresser, interior designer, and the Chinese grocer are located along this stretch. With our car-centric habits we often drive to our destination, park, and depart without ever exploring. Your visual attention is often distracted by loud landmarks like the two-story pink mural on the antique store or the fluorescent sign of a gas station. It may be easy to miss the the charming garden tucked away in an alleyway.

Between a car sales lot and a church, a wide red brick path invites the curious passersby to explore a tiny garden. Red heuchera and golden Japanese forest grass enliven, the sanctuary from the street, with bright colour. The path takes wide turns to lengthen the journey as you contemplate the branching structure of an elegant dogwood tree. A bench is situated in front of a statuary bust on a pedestal. The bust is of Harriet Tubman. She has a direct gaze as she overlooks her secret garden.

Harriet was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She knew how to tell directions from looking at the stars. She led people escaping slavery to Canada by memorizing landmarks in the landscape along the way. She was a strategist and master of disguise. No one was ever able to catch Harriet Tubman or any of her passengers.

Harriet Tubman lived in St. Catharines on North Street from 1851-1858. Of the people that she guided to freedom, some put down roots in our community. The alleyway garden is tucked in beside the Salem Chapel, built in 1855. Many of the people who were freed from slavery attended Salem Chapel. It was also an important center for Canadian 19th century abolitionist and civil rights leaders. Today, this site is a National Historic Site of Canada. Local Historian Rochelle Bush, a descendant of African American freedom seekers, shares the stories of the site through Tubman Tours Canada.

By getting out of your car and exploring your neighborhood on foot you will have an opportunity to time travel through familiar urban typology.