Uptown Waterloo, September 29

Our third seminar of “Walking Paths to Discovery” began with brief presentations from all students on our ideas for our research papers. Everyone had unique ideas about the research paper which ranged from how walking is used as a method of protest to how walking is used to create suspense in movies. One of the most common themes was how danger can be felt while walking.

After sharing our ideas, Dr. Sharpe took us for the Waterloo loop. We started the walk by strolling on Bricker and Ezra Avenues through, what some residents fear has become, a student ghetto.  On these streets, almost all the housing, including older decrepit homes and new apartment buildings, are occupied by university students.

We then made our way along Albert Street to Waterloo Park, a hidden gem in the city.  In the park is a zoo which once housed large animals but now is primarily a petting zoo because of humanitarian reasons.  There is also a boardwalk which is a walker’s paradise that traverses a century old, mill-pond know as Silver Lake.  Although this is a beautiful site, the trained eye of the geographer will spot the substantial silt deposits caused by erosion upstream. We learned that continuous development along Laurel Creek upstream from Waterloo Park and on the west side of Waterloo has caused the erosion of silt which travels down river until it is deposited in the pond.  We continued our walk through up-town Waterloo where we took note of some heritage buildings and observed the character of the uptown core. Our walk ended at the former residence of one of Dr. Sharpe’s geography professors on Albert Street. We are looking forward to our next walk, which will be through a secluded woodlot setting.

By:  Warren Brayne, Stephen Di Carlo and Dylan Ingram