Re-posting from Mark Mattson: Addendum: What Wesleyville Already Is To Lake Ontario & Great Lakes
- porthopehealthconc
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
After the original piece circulated, a close friend—someone who knows this land intimately—reached out to share what Wesleyville has quietly been for decades.
Before it became shorthand for a future megaproject, Wesleyville was widely regarded by conservationists and historians as a hidden gem along Lake Ontario’s north shore. Though owned by Ontario Power Generation, the 1,300‑acre site functioned in practice as a de facto nature reserve and cultural heritage landscape, shaped as much by restraint as by intention.
In 2014, a joint study by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada identified the area as a top‑priority conservation site within the Ontario Mixedwood Plains. Its ravine systems are among the last remaining high‑biodiversity shorelines on Lake Ontario, and Wesleyville Creek is considered one of the region’s highest‑quality coldwater streams—capable of supporting sensitive species such as brook trout.
The land also holds cultural meaning. The original village of Wesleyville, abandoned in the 1960s and 70s when Ontario Hydro acquired the property for a power project that was later cancelled, was preserved largely in place. In 2016, part of the site was formally designated a Provincial Heritage Property, and community volunteers have since restored the 1860 church and 1899 schoolhouse, effectively operating the area as a public‑access heritage space.
Ironically, it was the absence of development that allowed Wesleyville to flourish. More than 50 years of natural regeneration earned Ontario Power Generation conservation awards as recently as 2020 and 2021. Today, the land is quietly but meaningfully used by hikers, birdwatchers, cyclists, and families—many of whom may not know its name, but value it all the same.
This matters because you cannot weigh trade‑offs if you do not know what is on the scale.
Wesleyville is not an empty site awaiting purpose. It is a living landscape with ecological, cultural, and public value—one that Ontarians deserve to know exists, to visit, and to understand before decisions are finalized.
The call to action is simple: Learn this place. Visit it if you can. Ask why access, transparency, and public forums matter before irreversible choices are made—not after. If Wesleyville teaches us anything, it is that the most consequential decisions are often the quietest ones, made long before the public realizes a choice is being taken away.
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