Video: Restoring Parliament Hill’s escarpment to its natural forested state
Watch this video to see how we are restoring the north side of the escarpment on Parliament Hill. In 2021, we revitalized the forest to provide a safer environment, return it to its natural state and make it more resilient to climate change.
Transcript of Restoring Parliament Hill’s escarpment to its natural forested state
Start of video
[Music plays]
(Text on screen: Public Services and Procurement Canada)
[Drone footage of escarpment behind Parliament Hill. Leaves on the trees are yellow, green and red. Fall]
[Drone footage of Library of Parliament and Centre Block. Buildings in downtown Ottawa in the background.]
[Close-up shot of the Peace Tower.]
[Drone footage of the Peace Tower and buildings in downtown Ottawa.]
The escarpment is special because when you compare it to its environment, you know just within a kilometre of it, you have the very historical and distinct Parliament Hill buildings, which have immense heritage value and then you have the hustle and bustle of Sparks Street and downtown Ottawa.
[Drone footage of Centre Block, Library of Parliament and the escarpment.]
[Drone footage of yellow trees and East Block.]
[Drone footage of Parliament Hill buildings and escarpment.]
And within that environment you have this dynamic contrast of the wild escarpment which is essentially natural and untouched by the rest of the city. And I think it’s that contrast that is so important.
[Shot of Steven Bechara on camera wearing a white hard hat and orange safety vest.]
(Text on screen: Steven Bechara. Project Manager. North Slope Project.)
My name is Steven Bechara. I’m the project manager for the North Slope project.
[Shot of green trees on the escarpment. The Rideau Canal locks and Bytown Museum are on the left. People are walking and biking on the path. Above the escarpment, we see part of the Peace Tower, Library of Parliament and a construction crane. Summer.]
The first key issue of the escarpment is the presence of invasive species.
[Close-up shot of green trees.]
[Shot of a worker in protective equipment using a harness and rope to climb the escarpment.]
And essentially these species have overtaken the area and developed such to a point that species that are natural to the area can’t take hold.
[Close-up shot of orange pegs in the ground, as well as grass and small plants.]
[Close-up shot of new grass and small plants.]
[Shot of new grass and small plants on the escarpment.]
And the consequence of this, beyond the lack of forest diversity and a healthy forest structure, is that there is no understory layer to the forest.
[Close-up of new grass on escarpment.]
[Shot of escarpment with a worker near the top digging with a shovel.]
[Close-up shot of new grass and a tree stump.]
The lack of this understory layer causes soil erosion which takes place over many years.
[Close-up of new grass and small plants on escarpment.]
[Shot of worker wearing protective equipment and hammering a peg in the ground.]
[Shot of worker hammering a peg in the ground on the escarpment.]
Essentially what happens is there are no natural plants at the base of the slope, there is nothing holding the soil together.
[Shot of worker installing white material on the escarpment.]
[Close-up shot of worker installing white material on the escarpment.]
[Shot of the escarpment with the Bytown Museum in the background. Person running on the path, while another person takes a photo.]
[Close-up shot of small rocks falling down the escarpment.]
And through many different weather conditions and earth movements, eventually the soil all erodes away and this presents a safety issue for pedestrians and passersby as rocks and other debris from the slope are at risk of rolling down.
[Shot of Jessica Tivy on camera wearing a white hard hat and orange safety vest.]
(Text on screen: Jessica Tivy. Design Manager. North Slope Project.]
My name is Jessica Tivy. I’m a conservation landscape architect with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and my role is design manager on this project.
[Shot of worker in protective equipment up in a tree supported by harnesses. Library of Parliament can be seen through the trees in the background. Winter.]
[Shot of a tree trunk falling to the ground. Snow on the ground.]
PSPC is doing some careful removals.
[Shot of a part of tree trunk falls to the ground while a worker in protective equipment stands on a lower part of the trunk.]
[Shot of Jessica Tivy inspecting the ground on escarpment. Summer.]
[Shot of worker planting new plant on escarpment.]
[Close-up shot of worker digging a hole with a shovel and planting a tree.]
[Close-up shot of new grass and small plants.]
We are doing some crown reductions, we’re also taking out some shrubs, but primarily we are planting. So these plants will start to stabilize the slopes with their root systems.
[Shot of trees and plants in containers.]
[Shot of worker holding two plants in containers.]
[Close-up shot of small plants.]
We are planting 7,000 trees approximately but in total there is going to be 70,000 different plants being planted.
[Close-up shot of new grass in soil.]
[Close-up shot of new grass.]
[Shot of Jessica Tivy inspecting a tree on the escarpment.]
And we are also seeding. So this is a big undertaking and we are really pleased to see this much material being planted on the slopes.
[Shot of worker in protective equipment adjusting ropes on the escarpment.]
[Shot of worker in protective equipment lowering himself down the escarpment using ropes and harness.]
[Drone footage of escarpment with birds flying over the Ottawa River.]
In this complex work environment, we have to protect fauna and that in particular can be birds. So no removals have taken place during the nesting period.
[Shot of worker in protective equipment pulling himself up the escarpment with ropes and harness.]
[Shot of three workers in protective equipment working near the top of the escarpment.]
[Shot of worker in protective equipment putting plants in a bag.]
[Shot of worker removing a plant from a container and raising it up to inspect.]
The work will affect the appearance of the escarpment in the fall. So as a result of the plantings we choose, we are going to re-establish what’s known as the symphony of colours.
[Shot of Jessica Tivy on camera wearing a white hard hat and orange safety vest.]
A diverse mix of red, purples, and yellows that is in keeping with the broader context that you see in Ottawa.
[Drone footage of the escarpment, Centre Block and Library of Parliament. Fall.]
[Drone footage of the yellow, green, red and orange leaves on the escarpment.]
This is a view you will see from across the way from Gatineau looking over at Parliament Hill which today is very much characterized by a yellow canopy because of the dominant invasive tree canopies.
[Shot of the escarpment, Centre Block and Library of Parliament.]
[Shot of Steven Bechara on camera wearing a white hard hat and orange safety vest.]
My favourite part of the Parliament Hill escarpment is while you are going through it, you feel like you are going through Canada.
[Drone of footage of escarpment, Centre Block and Library of Parliament. There is a boat on the Ottawa River.]
You got the river, you have forests, you have the animals, the trees, the vegetation.
[Drone footage of the trees on the escarpment.]
[Drone of footage of escarpment, Centre Block and Library of Parliament. Downtown Ottawa buildings in the background.]
And all throughout you can take a look at the Parliament Hill buildings which feel like they hold the area and the whole country together.
[Music stops]
(Text on screen: Check us out: facebook.com/PSPC.SPAC, instagram.com/pspc_spac, twitter.com/pspc_spac, youtube.com/PWGSCanada)
(Public Services and Procurement Canada signature)
(Canada Wordmark)
End of video