The Story of Woolwich Township's Healthy Communities Project

Woolwich is a township of rich farmland, about 150 kilometres west of Toronto, lying north and east of the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo. It is known for its Mennonite history, and present population of Mennonite farmers. While immigration from 1830 to the present has been mainly from Germany, we have been enriched by newcomers from the various cultures that have, especially recently, made Canada their home.

Population increase has stressed resources of all kinds, in people, themselves, as well as in the environment. We have felt a growing insecurity, losing more of a treasured way of life, day by day. Now, we want to take up the reins that will guide us into our township's future, with a clear vision of what we want that future to be.

The Beginning

In November of 1988, after the discovery of NDMA in the ground water which supplies Elmira's and St. Jacobs' water systems, Waterloo Regional Government appointed the Woolwich Community Health Committee to respond to the resulting health concerns of the community. This committee included in its membership representatives from the fields of health care and government, as well as citizens from the communities affected and local environmental groups. As a result of conversations in Elmira's business community, and with the Waterloo Regional Health Unit, Councillor Grace Sudden, who chaired the Health Committee, saw 'Healthy Communities' as a possible positive channeling of the energy in the area. Grace, along with councillors from the City of Waterloo, accompanied representatives from the Health Unit to the Healthy Communities convention in Montreal in the winter of 1990. Upon their return, Theresa Schumilas of the Health Unit presented a summary of the conference to the Health Committee, which then decided to sponsor an event that would involve the people of the township directly in identifying and addressing their concerns.

In January, 1991, Councillor Sudden and the Reverend Clint Rohr (the executive director of the Woolwich Community Health Centre and another original member of the Health Committee) invited a broad cross-section of people from across the township to form the Woolwich Healthy Communities Planning Committee, for the purpose of planning a 'Visioning Day'.

The Planning Committee wanted, ideally, to bring people together from all areas of Woolwich to think about what makes a community healthy and share what they would like their communities to be. Visioning Day was held on May 4th, 1991, under the guidance of Dr. Trevor Hancock, an initiator of the 'Healthy Communities/Healthy Cities' movement internationally, Darcy Farlow, of the Waterloo Regional Public Health Unit, and John Lord, Coordinator of the Centre for Research and Education in Human Services in Kitchener. Invitations to the Visioning Day were sent to all households and businesses in the township, as well as social service agencies, churches, and health-related agencies. Fifty-three people attended, most of whom wanted to stay involved.

Visioning Day was a chance to step out of our personal situations, and try to get in touch with what we needed in our larger environments. In the morning, Dr. Hancock took us on an imaginary hot air balloon ride, during which we were to lower our balloons and settle them in the midst of our communities as we would like them to be twenty years in the future. It was a time of child-like imagining and sharing of memories and hopes of a cleaner, safer, world. Our needs and values had a chance to surface, and we discovered they were far from incompatible. We all need clean air and water, satisfying work, good fun together, as well as privacy and peace. We share with the rest of nature, needs for all that sustains life. Upon our return, we made notes about everything we wanted to remember. Next, we divided into groups of around ten, and drew our visions with coloured markers on sheets of paper. In the afternoon, Darcy Farlow and John Lord helped us see how we might build on our ideas of the morning and find ways they might be put into action. The day ended with Mary Eileen McClear, a storyteller from Baden, telling us a story about ourselves beginning to take charge. Our story turns on the experience of this day.

Moving along...

Out of the Visioning Day, the Woolwich Healthy Communities Coordinating Committee (WHCCC) was formed to promote the Healthy Communities concept and develop future initiatives. Councillor Grace Sudden and the Reverend Clint Rohr were asked to co-chair this committee and all those who had attended the Visioning Day were invited to join.

Members included: interested citizens, local politicians, the municipal planner, and people representing education, business, health and social services. We were trying to get more representation from farmers, youth and businesses as well.

In August of 1991, selected members facilitated a second visioning exercise involving township councillors and senior staff, because they had not all been able to attend the Visioning Day. Significantly, their vision of Woolwich Township as a healthier community was strikingly similar to the visions developed by the community members at the May workshop.

Woolwich Township Council subsequently endorsed the 'Healthy Communities' concept. They directed that "council and staff representatives work with WHCCC and other interested organizations and individuals on the formation of healthy community guiding principles for Council's approval.

Three clear themes emerged from all of our visions, and were expanded in a November 1991 workshop. This event was the next step for those who had participated in May. They explored the dimensions of stream rehabilitation, hiking and biking trails and sustainable development. This led to the formation of three groups to plan and carry out a course of action in each area:
1) Clean Waterways Group
2) Woolwich Trails Group
3) Sustainable Development Group

Early in 1993, members of WHCCC met with three farmers to initiate the Well Water Quality Group. This group comprises many rural people, for whom the contamination of well water is a major concern.

4) Well Water Quality Group

Some thoughts...

Although the backgrounds of Woolwich Healthy Community members are varied, our vision is held in common. We want to listen to one another with a desire to understand. The essential is already here: caring people, with their energy, enthusiasm and insight.

The very word vision is alight with hope. It lifts rather than burdens. It brings people together from all sectors. There is no 'us and them', only us. People caring, access in themselves power they never knew they had.

Speed, growth and technology have all contributed to complicating our lives. Money and convenience have made our decisions for a long time.

Now we are beginning to be aware of real costs, of truer values that have taken a back seat. Through 'Healthy Communities' we hope to engage our children - and our children's children - in creating and keeping their own vision of health, nature, and community.

The Future...

Although we have come a long way in the years since the inception of Woolwich Healthy Communities, we recognize that there is also a long road ahead of us. We realize that visions change over time, that our community is changing rapidly, and that we need to adapt to these changes. We know that we are not addressing all of the issues that affect our community. We see that we could have better intersectorial representation in our group.

This is where we look to you. Please help us to make our vision and your vision come true. We are always looking for others to help build a healthier Woolwich.

Adapted from a story by Bev Sawyer (written in 1993)

Woolwich Healthy Communities P.O. Box 370 10 Parkside Drive St. Jacobs, Ontario NOB 2NO Tel: (519) 664-3794 Fax: (519) 664-2182