Alex Robertson Park
The park is located on the shore of the 134
acre Hydro Marsh, which is protected from Lake Ontario by a dynamic
barrier beach. Under the guidance of the "Frenchman's Bay Watershed
Rehabilitation Project", Alex Robertson Park has become a
demonstration site for restoring open spaces to a more natural state as
well as numerous stewardship activities.
Stewardship projects include; naturalization plantings, viewing platforms, wood duck boxes, snake hibernaculums, turtle basking logs, tern rafts and North America's largest wind turbine. Keep your eyes open for these exciting initiatives while you explore the park.
Alex Robertson Park includes a number of popular hiking and running trails and is a popular destination for hikers, dog walkers, cyclists, and persons embarking on a longer exploration of Pickering's Waterfront Trail.
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This 48 acre park is home to the very popular art installation "Homeplace", created by Pickering's own Dorsey James, http://www.novacan.ca/djames/
Visit the park and take a stroll through this fabulous sculptural installation that includes interpretive signage. Take the time to read about the artwork and explore the imagination of its creator to unlock the mysteries of Homeplace subtitled by the artist as "Enchantment in the Making".
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The park is home to one of North America's largest wind turbines. This 117-metre turbine (measured from the ground to the highest blade tip), called the Pickering Wind Generating Station, can produce enough emission-free energy to supply the annual electricity needs of about 600 average Ontario homes.
Facilities Include:
- 1 Cricket Pitch
- Parking & Access to Waterfront Trail
- Homeplace Art Installation
Other public areas along the waterfront:
- Beachfront Park
- Bruce Handscombe Park
- Millennium Square
- Petticoat Creek Conservation Area
- Progress Frenchman's Bay East Park
- Rotary Frenchman's Bay West Park
- Homeplace & Alex Robertson Park and
- Pickering's Waterfront Trail
About Alex Robertson, 1921 - 2002
Alex Robertson was born in Clive, Alberta in 1921. He moved to Scotland with his family in 1925, and joined the Royal Navy in 1936. During the Second World War, he was a Naval commando and frogman, and saw much action in Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. He married Doris (nee Brand) in 1946, and had two children, Peter (1949) and Ian (1951). In 1956, Alex and his family emigrated to Canada. Alex moved to Pickering in 1959, and founded the News and Views, a community paper in Bay Ridges, renamed the Bay News in 1962. Alex became very well-known and respected for his unstinting community work, including the founding of the Kinsman Club, a youth club, and many other community projects. Alex became regional councilor for Ward 2 Pickering in 1973, and served as councillor, except for two years, until he retired in 1989. During that time Alex supported the construction of the Pickering Recreation Complex, and contributed to the creation of the waterfront park system. He was awarded the Centennial Medal for his contributions to Pickering in 1967.
