Plans aren't set in stone quite yet, but Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) is considering design options to create public art representing an otter in Glen Williams.
Current renderings - which are subject to change and not available for publication - show what appears to be a coiled otter made out of flagstones with accompanying greenery. This animal, and several others, are part of the CVC’s Indigenous Experience Plan (IEP) for the 100-km Credit Valley Trail.
“The IRT (Indigenous Roundtable) selected Glen Williams as a key site based on traditional and archaeological knowledge of the area,” CVC Director of Parks, Lands and Community Engagement Terri LeRoux said in an emailed statement. She added that the “adjacency and opportunity to access the Credit River” was also a factor.
As things stand, Glen Williams Park is the likely location of the stone mosaic of the otter. However, LeRoux emphasized the infancy of the plan and that the actual installation may be subject to change.
"The conceptual design will be refined and developed by the IRT with the support of a future Indigenous design consulting firm,” she said.
The CVC has designated several other sites along the trail for similar works of art in accordance with the IEP. Seven have been chosen to create inclusive spaces for community building, teachings, ceremonies and events.
Each site will have an animal dodem, representing the traditional familial bonds of the Anishinaabe people. To date, the Crane Gathering Space has been completed in Orangeville, near Island Lake.
In Anishinaabe belief, the otter plays an important role in representing unity, harmony and collective well-being. The animal features heavily in one of the creation stories of the Anishinaabe people.
Each site on the trail will have interpretive signage, trail markers, interactive story experiences and public art installations, among other things. LeRoux hopes the locations will provide trial users with a unique opportunity to learn about Indigenous culture and history.
"This is a pathway walked since time immemorial by the Indigenous peoples that lived beside and travelled upon the river,” LeRoux said.
No word yet on when the site in Glen Williams will be completed.
Anyone interested in learning more about the CVC’s plan for the Credit Valley Trail can request the planning document through its website.
