The Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) has a population of approximately 5,800 permanent and 2,000 seasonal residents. ACW is in the County of Huron which is known as Ontario's West Coast. ACW is a rural community of small villages and hamlets with strong ties to agriculture. The vast Lake Huron shoreline that encompasses the entire west side of the Township hosts a strong seasonal presence. ACW wishes to develop and implement a parks and recreation strategic plan to guide the planning and development of parks, trails, facilities, greenspaces, and recreation programs within the municipality. A parks and recreation strategic plan would support staff and Council in making decisions regarding investment in recreation infrastructure and enhanced programming to improve the health and sustainability of the growing community. Without a formal plan, it has been challenging to organize COVID-19 recovery efforts and resume recreation programming. Spending decisions related to parks and recreation are currently made on an ad-hoc basis. With no framework to determine funding request priorities, investments are often done reactively rather than proactively. A strategic plan would equip employees to make better decisions regarding parks and recreation in ACW to: Support healthy, active lifestyles and participation in both structured and unstructured recreational activities.
Deliver safe, inclusive, fair, and age-appropriate programming within the evolving parameters of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Foster continued strength of volunteer service, civic pride, and local identity, encouraging connections through shared recreation experiences.
Conserve natural open spaces and features and fundamental ecological systems, embracing ACW's natural assets such as the beaches of Lake Huron and rural landscape.
Contribute to positive development of public spaces in settlement areas. The strategic planning process would involve public consultation to determine current and expected levels of service for recreation facilities, program content and accessibility. Understanding the needs of our residents related to recreation services will be critical to helping plan both the immediate and longer-term future. Aligning ACW's recreation programs to the needs and expectations of its residents will allow for more sustainable sources of revenue, hopefully avoiding mismatched program capacity and registration numbers. The strategic plan can help meet demand for services and programming through strategic investment in alternative program delivery methods.
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