Anti-turf group looks to spirit world to help keep park intact

Melville Avenue resident Patrick Barnard hosted friends and supporters from Westmount and beyond to celebrate Samhain, the Celtic New Year, a tradition that he felt tied in well with the Westmount Park problem.

“We’ve always had parties here, but we’ve never had a sort of completely open party so it was an opportunity to do that and also to register our fear about the future of the park,� said Barnard. “We think the park is in danger and we think also that the council must see reason and keep it as a green space.�

Over the past few weeks, the City of Westmount has been exploring the option of placing an artificial surface on the athletic fields at Westmount Park as a solution to wear and tear caused by overuse. A group called Save the Park had been formed to oppose the idea.

“Samhain, for the ancient Celts, was the time when the living and the dead meet each other,� said Barnard. “It is a time when the spirits that are in the earth come up and communicate with people... and we know that the spirits of the earth are alive out there now, so we went out and we asked them to stay strong so that they are not threatened by anyone who seeks to damage them.�

A bagpiper held vigil on Barnard’s front steps as he and other guests held their ceremony on the field, and once back in the house the sound of guitars, fiddles and accordion filled the house as guests mingled, ate, drank and talked about the field.

“For me the Astroturf gives a falsification of nature and I don’t approve of it,� said Colin Paterson, who has lived by the park for more than 30 years. “I thought to myself, they put down sod every year on the soccer field and it gets torn all up, and I realized, that’s life, that’s sports.�

“When the children come out of school, I don’t think they want to play on artificial turf,� said June Paterson. “I think that the idea of something artificial in the park just horrifies people.�

“What happens when you put in synthetic turf, especially in an area as ecologically delicate as this, is that you completely disrupt the carbon cycle, the natural cycles that take place between grass, earth and air,� said Barnard.

Mike Deegan, Westmount’s director of sports and recreation said that something had to be done about improving the quality of the park’s athletic fields, but concerned residents should not worry about anything being done without their input.

“It wouldn’t be a group of residents that make the decision, it would be the community at large that would make the decision; obviously it’s everybody’s money and it’s everybody’s interest, not just a few streets,� said Deegan.

“No plans have been made yet,� said Deegan. “Right now council’s just looking at all the information and trying to ascertain what would be the best solution for the current problem.�

According to Deegan, chronic overuse of the field has limited the amount of athletic programs the City can offer. They are getting well over the 25 hours of use that is recommended for a playing field.

“Typically, in the months of May and June, the fields are getting way in excess of what the capacity of those fields can handle and in conjunction with the fact that there’s a school located nearby, you have a number of children that are out there three or four times a day using the fields as well,� said Deegan.

“We respect everybody’s opinion, and that’s why we had the information meeting,� said Deegan. “We’re trying to do all the research we can on all the products and all the options that are out there to us, but inevitably, at some point, if we’re going to improve the quality of the playing field, we’re going to have to move in one direction.�

To Barnard, increasing the amount of sports played in Westmount isn’t a matter of field surface, but a matter of space: “I think the only solution, if they want a soccer complex... would be to team up with another municipality because I’m not sure that the space is available in Westmount.�