Tay Valley Township announces results of Park Naming Contest

Tay Valley Township Council is proud to announce the name of its newest public park. “Maberly Fall River Park”, in the ward of South Sherbrooke, will be beautifully upgraded into an accessible community space with waterfront access to the Fall River.

Results of the community contest held between February 5 and March 5, provided a total of 15 suggested names for the new park. The purpose of the contest was to find a name that represents this park’s best qualities, located on the Fall River in Maberly - one of Canada’s most historic communities.

It was important that the name be understandable, recognizable and explainable to citizens, and that it respect the values in regard to history, heritage and culture of the space.

The contest entries were presented to Tay Valley Council for a final decision. We thank all that contributed their ideas to the contest.

At the April 27^th meeting of Tay Valley Township Council, discussion led to combining a few of the contest entries to reach the final name. This means there are multiple “winners” of the park naming contest!

Tay Valley Township would like to recognize the following contributors:

• Rosemary Kralik, for “Maberly Park”
• Anita Payne, for “Fall River Landing”
• Jim Tysick, for “Maberly Community Park”

Left to Right: Reeve Brian Campbell, Rosemary Kralik, Anita Payne and Jim Tysick.

“Maberly Fall River Park” was selected as the new park name as it not only met the criteria, but simply lends itself to the location on the Fall River within the heritage community of Maberly.

“The park name makes sense. Residents will see the connection to the community, while visitors will appreciate knowing what to expect; a park in Maberly on the river. It’s Maberly Fall River Park,” proudly stated Brian Campbell, Reeve of Tay Valley Township.

People considering entering the contest were encouraged to learn about Tay Valley history, visit the location (refer to map below), and provide a brief explanation as to why their entry would be the best name for the new park.

Deputy Reeve Barrie Crampton presented the tourism potential and historic appeal of the park’s location on the Fall River, stating that “Downstream from the proposed park, the river cuts through the terrain in a deep accessible gorge with remnants of the mills of the past.”

It is the unopened road allowance at the intersection of Cohen Way and Maberly-Elphin Road in Maberly that will be transformed into a community park. Construction will begin in the Summer and the park will open in Fall 2021. The park design includes open space, an accessible picnic table, a park bench, a canoe/kayak launch site and a historical plaque to commemorate Maberly’s connection to Leonard Cohen, a Canadian Poet Icon.

Map location of Maberly Community Park:

The Maberly Park project was approved as part of the regular budget process. Funding requests have been submitted for support of this project to the Rural Economic Development Program (RED) and the Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI).

Enhancing this existing municipal asset is a cost-effective approach to fulfill the recommendations outlined in the Recreation Master Plan, as well as the Strategic Plan, to increase public access to waterways.

Consideration was given to proposed park names that convey a sense of place and that celebrate the distinguishing characteristics of the community; that referenced geographical, historical, environmental, ecological or natural resource features of the park; that align with the idea that the park has value as a public resource (the importance of maintaining waterfront access for everyone and building outdoor spaces that are inclusive and accessible).