School Remembrance Projects

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Waterloo, Ontario - Veterans' Green

The purpose of this neighbourhood commemorative project was to redevelop the parkette known as Scholars’ Green to include features that would celebrate and respect the historical significance of the area and the veterans who settled there, and to generate respect and a sense of community among its users.

The Scholars’ Green Neighbourhood Commemorative Project demonstrates the use of heritage and history to bring people together and resolve conflicts. The area in Waterloo known as Scholar’s Green is “a fascinating example of the way that neighbourhoods have evolved over the years,” says Anne Chafe, Curator of Waterloo’s Heritage Collection. This neighbourhood was developed in the late 1940’s in response to the post-war demand for homes, and veterans were offered first chance at moving into the area. Many servicemen and their families still live in the area, and even more recently returned for a reunion of the closely-knit community.

Although the neighbourhood was originally established for WWII veterans, in more recent years there has been a transition to the provision of housing for university students. The permanent residents made concerns known to city officials about changes to the neighbourhood, and increased noise and vandalism, and it soon became apparent that university students were not aware of the area’s history.

The redeveloped "Veterans’ Green"

A Committee drawn up to address the issue included representatives from several community groups, including the Wilfred Laurier University Administration, Wilfred Laurier University Students’ Union, Wilf’s Pub, City of Waterloo Ward Councillor, City of Waterloo Protective Services, Recreation & Leisure Services, Parks and Works Services, Royal Canadian Legion Branch No.530, Kitchener-Waterloo Naval Association and 404 K-W Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force Association, Residents, and Waterloo Regional Police Services. The goal of the Committee was to direct efforts toward a solution that would recognize the significance of the area and the veterans and to generate respect by the residents of this neighbourhood and users of the park.

Chafe explains that the heritage component of the project in the Scholar’s Green Parkette “started out of community need” identified by the Committee as one approach to resolving neighbourhood issues. The commemorative project in the parkette includes features that celebrate the historical significance of the area and the veterans who settled there, and generate respect and a sense of community among its users.

The original “Scholars Green”

The community partners listed above have committed through financial and volunteer support to seeing this project through to completion and the creation of a better living environment for all area residents. High school students, university students, veterans, and other community residents have all contributed in some way.

Oral history interviews were conducted with area veterans about their experiences in WWII and the development of the neighbourhood, and archived with The City of Waterloo’s Heritage Resource Unit. Interpretive panels designed to reflect these memories and the commemorative nature of the project were installed in the parkette. Furthermore, the parkette was landscaped to address the neighbour’s concerns for safety, vandalism and sound buffers, and a contest was held to rename the parkette to reflect its significance.

Not only does the redevelopment of the parkette beautify the neighbourhood, but the combination of this project with its heritage aspects is helping to educate the community about the significance of the area and the contributions that Waterloo’s veterans made to Canada. The process of incorporating several groups into the process of redeveloping the parkette helped to create a sense of community and mutual respect, and it is hoped that a planned “adopt a parkette” program will develop this relationship into an on-going one.

The redeveloped “Veterans’ Green”

The ways in which heritage is intertwined with other aspects of civic development in this project are numerous, and include beautification of the area, education of the area’s history, and facilitating social cohesion. “Heritage was a key element that brought all these different groups together,” says Chafe of the ways that this project benefits the community, “to me it’s far reaching, the number of people involved demonstrates how people have bought into it and have made a commitment to seeing the project through to completion.”