Video – Photo Gallery – Port Hope Celebrates the Reopening of Lions Park

Pete Fisher
11 hours ago
• Categories: Editor Choice, Local

It was a glorious day for the reopening of Lions Park in Port Hope on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories along with the community of Port Hope celebrated the reopening of Lions Park with the completion of Port Hope Area Initiative work.

As part of Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) activities, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) clean up and restored lands at the Lions Recreation Centre Park located on Thomas Street in Port Hope.

During opening ceremonies a number of dignitaries spoke around the restored lands of Lions Park.

“Lions Park has been a valued part of Port Hope, said Vicki Mink, Deputy Mayor Port Hope Council.

“A place for recreation, connection and community life. The park has been restored and safer for everyone. Now and into the future.”

“It’s important to acknowledge the clean-up extended beyond radioactive waste. Thanks to the municipalities and communities advocacy the project also addressed more toxic industrial contaminants, such as lead, heavy metals and PCB’s.”

With the cutting of the ribbon, Mink added, “we do more than reopen a park. We reaffirm our commitment to environmental responsibility and transparency and to the well-being of our community.”

Jim McCafferty, Director Decommissioning and Site Restoration – Atomic Energy of Canada Limited said there was literally hundreds of people involved in restoring the park.

Challenges along the way included technical and social explained McCafferty.

“Ground water has never been far from the problems. There were challenges getting the problem off the ground in the first place. But the legacy that is left behind is something that will benefit the environment and residents in this area for decades to come.”

Dave Mowat, who is the Senior Indigenous Engagement Advisor with CNL and former Chief of Alderville First Nation said the project speaks to his values.

“It’s a important reclamation for the Municipality of Port Hope. We do know the story of Port Hope and the contamination throughout the town. So to reclaim a site here and turn it into what you’re seeing today is really important not only for the municipality, but for the residents and for all those little critters and birds and insects that survive and thrive in environments like this.”

Scott Cameron, has been the Project General Manager for PHAI for the last 18-months.

Cameron spoke about the Port Hope project at a conference he attended in Pheonix along with 30 different countries.

After his presentation a woman from England approached him and said the Port Hope Are Initiative is part of her thesis.

“Port Hope Area Initiative, working with the Municipality, our key contract partners, and the biggest customer, our residents are delivering what other countries can’t.”

“She said, “you guys are cleaning up legacy waste so we can build nuclear for the future.”

Cameron ended his remarks by saying, “Port Hope can show the world what great looks like on remediation.”

The site contained both industrial waste and historic low-level radioactive waste. As such, it is identified as requiring a cleanup in the 2001 Legal Agreement for the PHAI between the municipality and the Government of Canada.

Approximately 15,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil along with industrial waste, including metals and boron, and 2,500 cubic metres of soil which had low-level radioactive waste were removed the site.
Over 60 years ago, the soil was contaminated unknowingly by workers.

PHAI work at the site began in the fall of 2022 with preparatory activities that include tree cutting. As part of the PHAI commitment to environmental stewardship, trees removed were replaced when the property was restored.

The cleanup was undertaken to safeguard the environment and public health, and it resulted in the removal of a treed area to access the waste. Trees, because of their extensive root systems, are especially susceptible to impact during soil cleanup. CNL integrates several strategies to minimize the impact to trees on all PHAI project sites. Strategies included thorough site assessment and planning, utilizing hydro-excavation and other low-impact techniques when possible and appropriate.

As part of the restoration process at Lions Park, the site was replanted and restored to park-like conditions with direction from the property owner, the Municipality of Port Hope.

Native Trees and Shrubs planted
Approximately 480 trees and 400 shrubs have been planted at Lions Park:

· Serviceberry

o Sweet edible berries which can be enjoyed by people, and a favorite for wildlife

· Tamarack – also known as Hackmatack

· Burr Oak – also called Mossycup Oak

· Trembling Aspen

· White Spruce – Fun fact from Ontario.ca: White spruce can live between 250 to 350 years, but trees up to 1000 years old have been documented

· White Cedar

· Sugar Maple

· Red Maple

· Black Cherry

· Black Walnut

· Basswood

· Paper Birch

· American Beech

Park features:

· Gazebo

· Two picnic tables with one of them being an accessible table

· Bike Racks

· Walking paths

· Benches made from whole tree trunks that were sourced from PHAI projects

· Solar powered lamp posts

· Sensory Garden

· Wayfinding signs (not up yet, still need to be produced by MPH)

· Interpretive signs (not up yet, still need to be produced by MPH)

· Trailhead signs (not up yet, still need to be produced by MPH)

Habitat:

· Bat box

· Two bird boxes

· Brush piles that provide cover and habitat (This wood was also sourced from PHAI projects)

· Bird feeder

Waste Volume:
14471.8m3 of waste has been removed from the Lions Park site since June 2023.

This is about five times the volume of an Olympic Swimming Pool (which is around 2500m3)
Erosion control measures left in place:

· Coir Mats – large nets placed on slopes to help hold the top layer of soil in one place. The mats are made from coconut fibre and will degrade over time. As the mats degrade grasses, shrubs, and trees will establish and grow allowing for their roots to become the best kind of erosion control – natural.

· Sandbags and Haybales – these can also be used to stop the washout of topsoil along a slope. They catch the larger particles keeping them in place, while runoff water passes through.