The City of Kingston will have archeological test pits dug in advance of its plans to plant up to 10 new trees in McBurney Park, replacing older trees that have been removed.
An archeologist has been contacted to dig 22 test pits to locate suitable spots to plant the 10 trees this fall with more possible in the future.
“The pits will show us where we can plant the trees,” says Troy Stubinski, operations manager for public works, in a release. “McBurney Park is also known as Skeleton Park [map] for good reason: it sits on a cemetery that closed in 1860s and had the park built over it in the 1890s. Any digging in McBurney Park requires archeological testing according to the Cemetery Act of Ontario.”
McBurney Park is the site of the former Upper Burial Ground, which was the city’s primary cemetery until 1850 when Cataraqui Cemetery was established. As many as 10,000 people are estimated to have been laid to rest at the Upper Burial Ground before it closed in 1864.
In the City release, senior heritage planner Ryan Leary archaeological assessments as “a way of carefully reviewing resources that have been hidden for generations and documenting them for archival and educational purposes. Without taking the time to do this we could lose this opportunity and information forever.”
Two major studies in McBurney Park have been conducted by the City over the past 15 years, including an archeological study ahead of road work on Alma, Balaclava and Ordnance streets, and as part of the McBurney Park Landscape Renewal Plan.
The City plans to double Kingston’s urban tree canopy over the next decade. Information about the Urban Forest Management Plan can be found at CityofKingston.ca/UrbanForest.
Photo: Google
Release source: City of Kingston
