Spryfield, Nova Scotia

Spryfield is a community in Mainland Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was founded about 1770, by Captain William Spry, who purchased land there and established the settlement with the aid of stationed soldiers from the nearby Halifax garrison.^[1] In 1783, he sold the property and returned to England. The name "Spryfield" is also sometimes used to refer to the general area of Halifax's South Mainland, which includes a number of communities along the Herring Cove and Purcell's Cove Roads.

Spryfield in Nova Scotia

Boundaries and structure

Strictly speaking, Spryfield "proper" is bounded to the north by Armdale, to the south by Long Pond and to the east by the Purcell's Cove Road. The major roads are

1. Herring Cove Road, off of which all other roads in Spryfield branch either primarily or secondarily,
2. William's Lake Road, which connects Herring Cove and Purcell's Cove Roads,
3. Old Sambro Road, which leads to Harrietsfield, Williamswood, then Sambro and
4. the Northwest Arm Drive, which connects Old Sambro Road to the St. Margaret's Bay Rd., Clayton Park and Highway 102. The Northwest Arm Drive permits one to bypass the Armdale Rotary, which would otherwise be the only exit from the Mainland South area of the Halifax Regional Metropolitan (HRM) area. See also "developments".

The community

Recreation

A good variety of recreational opportunities exist in the community. There are a several good children's playgrounds - not enough, according to many, but there are current efforts to alleviate this need, such as the construction of a Kaboom playground structure behind the Lions' rink). Spryfield also has numerous lakes of various sizes for swimming and non-motorized boating in the summer months - see below for details. For people who are not interested in natural aquatic settings, there is a public pool in the middle of the community at the Captain William Spry Community Centre, which is built on the site of the former West School. The Centre also contains a library, community service offices and meeting rooms available to the general public. There are baseball and soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, and a skating rink (next to J.L. Ilsely High School), and the school gyms are often available for community use as well. In addition, the community is home to the Boys & Girls Club of Spryfield, which offers programs to children and youth year-round. For those interested in gardening, there is a community gardening operation near Thornhill Park, on part of what was once the old Kidston farm. A masonic lodge, Duke of Kent 121, also meets in Spryfield, on the border with Long Pond.

Spryfield is surrounded by forested areas, and in addition to the lakes there are numerous opportunities for hiking, berry-picking and exploring. See the "trails" subsection of the "natural setting" division below, for details and cautions.

Schools and services

To service the continuing development of subdivisions, apartment complexes and homes, there are schools located in Spryfield for all ages. There are day cares, elementary schools, junior high schools, and one high school (J. L. Ilsley High School). When choosing a school in Spryfield, children may attend French immersion or English speaking classes starting from elementary school. See the list of schools below, for details.

Public sector services are well represented in or near the community, with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) headquarters, fire stations, a complete selection of schools, and community service offices at the Captain William Spry Center and the Spryfield Mall. Provincial governmental services are available at numerous locations nearby, including the Halifax Shopping Center. Since Halifax is the capital (and largest city) of the province, provincial and federal services are well represented in area, especially in the downtown district - a 10 minute drive from Spryfield.

Problems and challenges

The area has a reputation for having a high crime rate. However, this is only true for certain localities: as a whole, crime rates in Spryfield are not greater than in other regions of the city.^{[citation needed]} Also, according to police sources,^{[citation needed]} a good percentage of the people causing trouble in Spyrfield come from outside the community. Generally speaking, the crime rate is lowest in the subdivisions which are mainly single family residences, and highest in higher density developments which are mainly rental units.

As in most sub-urban areas in Canada these days, there are drug and gang problems in Spryfield. Marijuana and cocaine (especially in the form of crack cocaine) are the two most commonly used and sold drugs in the area, and disputes over gang "territories" sometimes generate violence. In particular, the Melvin and Marriot family-related gangs have been engaged since the mid 1990s in a struggle for dominance in the drug trade (cocaine being the most contentious matter) in Spryfield, and a string of shootings and fire-bombings have resulted in several deaths and injuries - not all of them in Spryfield itself, however. The latest fatality in this "turf war" has been Terry Marriott, who was shot in the Harrietsfield area in February, 2009. For a summary of this unfortunate feud, see Melvins vs Marriotts: A tale of two crime families.

On the positive side of the ledger, there is little problem with prostitution or illegal gambling in the area (although before the Nova Scotian government took over the gambling racket in the province, there were a number of "grey" gambling machines in the area). Break-ins and robberies are no more frequent in Spryfield than in most other districts of the city, and most of the community is in fact quite peaceful. Drugs remain the issue which is connected with the majority of crime in Spryfield, and anyone who is not connected with the drug trade is as at least as safe as citizens in other parts of the city.

Despite the close-knit nature of the community in general, this is still predominantly manifested amongst long-time residents. Transient and new residents are not becoming involved in community activities and organizations at as great a rate as might be hoped for. In many of the newer developments the phenomenon of "suburban alienation" can be found - where neighbours generally keep to themselves and do not get to know the residents of their street or local area well. Also, community-based youth organizations in the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides family of groups, have declined dramatically in Spryfield. They peaked in the late 1960s, when the tail end of the "Baby Boomer" and the beginning of the subsequent "Echo Boomer" generations produced an abundance of children in the Scouting/Guiding age cohort. This sharp decline is partially because of the rise in popularity of sports organizations and related opportunities in the area. Also, there has been a general decline in activities associated with the churches in most of the province.

Finally, as discussed in the Business and Industry section, the area is not as "business-friendly" as it could be, and there are relatively few employment opportunities in the Spryfield area per se. This can be described as the "Bedroom Community Syndrome", where people in an area do not typically work, shop or conduct business in the community where they live. This trend began in the 1960s, and there seems to be little by way of a tendency to depart from the pattern, despite repeated and determined efforts.

Natural setting (Geology, flora, fauna, hydrology)

Geology

Spryfield is underlain by Devonian granite and Silurian slate, with a very thin layer of soil in most places and large areas of outcroppings, mostly of the granite, which is the most common bedrock by far. The region was scraped clean during the Wisconsin Glaciation, hence most of its soil was deposited many miles out to sea in a terminal moraine. Much of the region's landforms were shaped by this glacier, which melted around 14,000 years ago: topsoil removed, hills rounded, pockets of unconsolidated aggregate left behind, drumlins created, and the landscaped is littered by many large granite boulders called glacial erratics - the most famous of which locally, is the Rocking Stone: a 95 ton rock delicately balanced on a flat area of glacial pavement so that it can be rocked with the use of a lever.^[2] There is also another notable but lesser known glacial erratic called Table Rock, which is a perhaps 50 ton boulder balanced on three small stones, from fist to soccer ball size. This can be found near the earthen dam at the northwestern end of Kidston's Lake.

The area is hilly, but the highest elevations are only about 100 meters (300 feet). Some of the hills are fairly steep - Olie St. for example, is amongst the steepest residential streets in city. Perhaps the steepest hill in the entire HRM area is the road at the back of Flemming Park - a wonderful challenge to cyclists!! All of the landforms in the region, however, have been rounded off during the above-mentioned glacial period.

Flora

The land has many granitic outcrops, which form barrens^{[disambiguation needed ]} where blueberries and huckleberries have provided sustenance and recreation for many over the years, but there are also many wetlands of various kinds, from the lakes and streams described in their own section to swamps and bogs. The developed area has grown manyfold in the past few decades, but most of Spryfield is still covered with boreal forest - mostly mixed spruce (black and red mostly), balsam fir, red maple, white, yellow and wire birch, white pine, the occasional hemlock, many witch-hazel, slow-growing, fire-dependent jack pine on the barrens, with the occasional stand of red oak (such as near Donnovan's Pond) and other hardwoods (white pine and oak are the two most common climax forest trees in the area, but there is almost no old growth forest remaining). There are scrubby areas of heaths such as lambskill and Labrador Tea (restricted to wetlands) and shrubs such as Saskatoon berries (Indian pears, Indian Berries, Service Berries....many names!!), elderberries and speckled alder - these are mostly disturbed areas along roadsides and in the early succession from barren land to forest. Also found in disturbed areas are blackberry thickets which produce abundant fruit. A wide variety of low bushes and non-woody plants such as wildflowers, grasses, sedges and even wild orchids can be found, although in disturbed areas most of the weedy plants such as plantain, dandelions and non-indigenous grasses are mostly invasive imports from Europe - although one of the most aggressive invaders is the tall, bamboo-like Japanese knotweed, which does not reproduce by seed (the seeds are fertile, but produce extremely feeble plants (unpublished research - easily verified, however: just plant a few, harvesting them after the first few hard frosts!!), being spread instead by sections of root transported in landfill, and via rhyzomes which can travel under roads and occasionally streams. There are a number of rare plants on the barrens (details needed here....) and in a few of the wetlands, and a notable patch of Scottish heather can be found near Spryfield, just south of a church on the Purcell's Cove Road about 1.5 km south of the intersection with the William's Lake Road, and at least two small patches of poison ivy exist, although it fortunately does not grow well in the area's extremely acidic soil. Mayflowers and red Lady Slippers are locally abundant, although please note that they ARE protected by law. All told, there are perhaps 450 species of native and naturalized vascular plants (no formal survey has been taken - this is a personal observation only) in the diverse habitats of the Spryfield area, from disturbed land successions to mature ecosystems - as well as a surprisingly large diversity of fungi, liverworts and lichens.

Fauna

For an area so close to a major city, the area's fauna is abundant. The large natural areas and wide diversity of habitats and ecosystems permit a good diversity of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and invertebrates to thrive, although many habitats especially the wetlands, have been extensively damaged by off-road vehicles. A large herbivore (especially rabbits, porcupines, deer and rodents) population supports a good diversity of predators. Foxes are common, and the bobcat population is still healthy. The occasional coyote has been seen in Spryfield, although they appear to be transient, not established as a breeding population for some reason. Racoons (omnivores, who eat almost anything, although they are particularly adept at catching ducks) are very common, and raptors such as various hawks and owls also have healthy populations in the area. Skunks are present in low numbers, and the occasional moose and bear travel through the region although it is improbable that they regularly breed so close to the city. Occasional Lynx signs have also been reported, and many uncommon bird species fly through the region during the spring and fall migration seasons. The most common birds are the urbanized naturalized European house sparrows, starlings and pigeons, but healthy populations of the native robins, blue jays, white-throated sparrows, herring gulls, various warblers and other woodland birds and of course crows also exist, and in the winter flocks of such species of cedar waxwings and yellow grosbeaks frequent bird feeders in the area.

Lakes and streams

Spryfield has a rich diversity of lakes and streams, including Kidston Lake, which is amongst the most popular swimming spot with its lifeguard and associated municipal park, Roach's Pond, as well as Long Lake, in Long Lake Provincial Park, Colepitt's Lake and William's Lake, which is also used by boaters. More remote lakes include Parr Lake and Donnovan's Pond behind Green Acres (these are probably the two lakes in Spryfield which have the most numerous fish populations still), Flat Lake (shallow, with a high density of mosquitoes), and there are two small lakes (Withrod and Cranberry Lake) in Long Lake Park, which drain into Long Lake. Whimsical Lake, Kidston's Pond and the "Punch Bowl" (near Cowie Hill) are very popular for skating, although not for swimming, being too small. There are also fine canoeing and kayaking opportunities on Long Lake, although there are no formal launching places yet.

There are many small streams which provide excellent hiking opportunities, such as the one connecting Colepitt's Lake and Williams Lake, but the community's only major waterway is the Macintosh Runs, which drains Long Lake and extends to Herring Cove. Indeed, almost all of Spryfield is within the Macintosh Runs watershed. There is an advocacy group associated with the Runs, and it has long been the goal of some, to develop a hiking trail along this waterway (which contains some very scenic ponds along its route), all the way to Herring Cove. (on Jan 1, 2010, the first segment of this trail, comprising 1.2 km behind Bridget Ave. (next to J. L. Ilesly High School) opened.)(see http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/index.cfm?sid=312910&sc=608 for details) It is currently moderately polluted by storm sewer runoff, with no plans for amelioration of this unfortunate reality. The advocacy group does however organize a yearly cleanup of the Runs, which greatly reduces the litter and garbage which finds its way into the watercourse.

Hiking trails

Although there is a lack of formal trails, a diverse network of old roads (such as the one going from the old slate quarry at Melville Cove (at the bottom of the steep hill going to Fort York Redoubt on the Purcell's Cove Road to behind the sewage treatment plant at the end of Princeton Ave (across the street from Green Acres), and the multitude of paths and old roads in Long Lake Provincial Park), trails in all states of use (some tend to peter out after a while, but others are still well used and easy to follow, such as many of those around and near Kidston Lake) and behind Green Acres subdivision, and even sewer cuts (such as the one along the Macintosh Runs) provide many excellent hiking opportunities. However, much needs to be done to preserve access to these trail systems, since developers do not normally recognize that they should designate public rights of way to commonly used trails instead of just cutting them off. Older children very seldom get lost in the area, since there such an abundance of trails, and from anywhere in Spryfield one can hear the noise from at least one road. Caution should always be used of course, when traveling in the woods - proper clothing should be worn or carried to protect one in case of a sudden weather change, and water and some food should be carried as well as a small survival kit.

Hiking cautions

It should be noted that the chances of encountering a dangerous animal in the Spryfield area are quite small: there are no poisonous snakes or spiders, and bears, lynx and moose (which can be dangerous under certain circumstances) are extremely rare. Bobcats could harm a child, but almost never do. Porcupines and skunks (the former are common in Spryfield, the later are frequent) should be left alone: they are slow, but can defend themselves well. Racoons are common, even in some of the older residential areas such as Thornhill Park, and although often shy, should be treated with respect: they are fierce, able fighters and if cornered can cause serious injuries. In particular, never get between a mother and her pups!! Coyote sightings are quite infrequent, and in any case coyotes almost never attack humans. Stray dogs are uncommon in the region, but any unaccompanied dogs encountered in the woods should be strictly avoided: their behavior is often difficult to predict.

The main danger is extremely rough, rocky terrain - traveling in the woods alone in this area is not a good idea, since serious injury due to a fall could cause fatal consequences. There are also a few poisonous plants and a good number of poisonous mushrooms: a good measure of safety in this matter can be had by following the simple rule: "If you are not CERTAIN of what a plant or mushroom (especially the later!) is, do NOT eat it." Small children should never be permitted to enter the woods alone - over the years several young children have been lost in Spryfield, most notably Wanda Graves around 1970, for whom a playground and ball park in Leblin Park was named.

Businesses and industry

Until approximately 1960, there was relatively (i.e., compared to overall population density) more business and industrial activity in the Spryfield area than subsequently. At the intersection of Dentith Road and Herring Cove Roads, for example, a hotel existed. There were farms in many portions of the community until the early 1950s, such as the Umlah farm just south of Long Lake, and the Kidston farm near what is now Thornhill Park. Most of Spryfield has been logged at least once, and the last logging and sawmill operation existed on the east side of Kidston Lake until the mid 1960s. Gravel and aggregate pits such as the operation to the south of Elizabeth Sutherland Memorial School (now a fine baseball diamond) helped provide material for building local roads until the late 1950s, and in the early part of the 20th century there was a thriving granite granite quarrying operation in what is now the northern portion of Long Lake Provincial Park: much of this granite can still be seen in historic buildings and walls in downtown Halifax.

In the 1960s and 1970s, many people began to travel to the Halifax downtown area and later on, to the Shopping Centers and Malls in the region to do their purchasing, and the community took on a "bedroom community" aspect: the great majority of the residents work elsewhere, with relatively few local thriving local businesses. The establishment of the Spryfield Mall in the mid-1970s (as a footnote, mostly on land purchased from St. Paul's United Church, which was able to retire its debt with the proceeds) was an attempt to reverse this trend, but it has struggled to fill its floorspace in recent years. That said, there is still a vigorous and growing business community in the Spryfield area, with a good amount of recent development occurring.

History

The land now known as Spryfield was first occupied by the Mi'kmaq people, who hunted and fished at Beaver Lake (now called Long Lake). The Mi'kmaq would later help the first Europeans in settling upon their arrival by the mid-18th century.^[3] They lived to regret this decision.

The community gets its name from Captain Lieutenant-General William Spry, who purchased land in the area in 1769. Originally known as Spry's Field, the town is centred around the Captain's former estate.

The availability of land suitable for farming, and the relative close proximity to the Halifax market attracted the European settlers. These included the Drysdale, Kidston, Brunt, Connors, Henneberry, Moor, Norris, Sutherland, Warner, Findlay, Umlah, Yeadon, Oakley, and McInnis families, many of whom still reside in the community today.

Of particular note was Henry Lieblin, a Halifax baker who held 500 acres (2.0 km²) of land by the latter 18th century. A large development begun in the early 1950s, Lieblin Park, was named in his honor.

Spryfield's first public school opened in 1859. Its teacher, Elizabeth Sutherland, taught the town's early residents. In 1958, Elizabeth Sutherland Memorial School opened in her honour.^[4]

Until 1968, Spryfield was a part of Halifax County. It voted to become a part of the city of Halifax in that year, via a general referendum.

2009 Forest fire

Spryfield has a history of large forest fires, which in more recent decades seems to have peaked in the 1960s, when a number of large fires burned a significant proportion of the forests in the area (The resulting blueberry crops were the most abundant in recent memory: in some places, over 5 liters of berries could be harvested in an hour, in areas burned in the 1960s). The largest Spryfield fire of the 21st century so far, however, began on April 30, 2009 when a forest fire erupted in the afternoon in the Green Acres area, forcing as many as 1,000 people to flee their homes. As many as 12 houses were destroyed and an area of approximately 800 hectares burned, between the Herring Cove and Purcell's Cove Roads: the fire travelled quickly between these major highways but did not cross either of them. The cause was not determined (carelessness was suspected, however) but dead wood from trees downed during Hurricane Juan fueled the blaze. Firefighters from Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources fought the fire.

Schools

• J. L. Ilsley High School (10-12), 38 Sylvia Avenue
• Central Spryfield School (P-6), 364 Herring Cove Road
• Elizabeth Sutherland (P-9); 66 Rockingstone Road
• Rockingstone Heights School; 1 Regan Dr
• Cunard Junior High School (7-9); 121 William's Lake Road (Jollimore)
• John W. Macleod Fleming Tower (P-6)

Government representatives

• Michele Raymond is currently the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Halifax Atlantic, the constituency that includes the community of Spryfield. She was elected in 2003.
• Megan Leslie is the Member of Parliament for Halifax, which in 2004 was re-organized to include the community of Spryfield.
• Stephen Adams is the HRM City Councilor for District 18, he was elected in 1991 initially serving the area as representative of Ward 7 before amalgamation.

Developments

Initially, Spryfield mainly consisted of homes and roads off of the three main roads mentioned above. However, after World War II developers began to build subdivisions to accommodate some of the many new residents of the still rapidly growing greater Halifax region as well as the Baby Boomer generation. These now contain the majority of the community's residents. Leiblin Park and Thornhill Park were among the first, being built from 1955 to 1965. Later developments include Elgin subdivision, Green Acres (which was left unfinished), Cowie Hill, the Greystone (formerly Carson St.) subdivision, three subdivisions off of William Lake Road, a modest co-op development by the Macintosh Runs across from B.C. Silver Junior High School, and a large development in the Colepitt's Lake barrens area which as of 2009 is about halfway completed. Initially, these were single family dwellings, but higher densities began to be achieved by the late 1970s, when the Cowie Hill subdivision was built with mostly townhouses and two large apartment buildings. Greystone is mostly row houses, and there are now a number of apartment building complexes in the area, such as the one off of River Road, facing J.L. Ilsley High School, and the "500 block" near Green Acres.

References

1. ^ Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. (1967) Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia. Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 641-643. Retrieved June 30, 2008, from http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/cap/places/page.asp?ID=641
2. ^ : In the 1890s, when the Rocking Stone became extremely popular as a Victorian Era attraction. Many people traveled from Halifax to see the natural wonder, have picnics on top of the stone and of course to rock it. Initially, it could be set in motion by hand surprisingly easily. Then, according to reports,^{[citation needed]} it was rocked so hard by a group of enthusiastic sailors that its center of gravity shifted and it became much more difficult to rock. However, until the 1970s when its base became worn down considerably by too much rocking, it could be easily moved by children with the aid of a suitable lever. Sadly, it now only moves a few inches and requires a very sturdy lever to achieve even this.
3. ^ We are Spryfield. (2006) Captain William Spry Community Centre, 6. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http://www.anccommunity.ca/Downloads/Spryfield_community_profile_2006.pdf
4. ^ Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. (1967) Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia. Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 641-643. Retrieved June 30, 2008, from http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/cap/places/page.asp?ID=641

External links

• We Are Spryfield
• Captain William Spry Public Library
• HRM's Recreation Site
• Stephen Adams, HRM Councillor
• Michele Raymond, MLA
• Spryfield Residents' Association (SRA)
• Spryfield Fire CBC News

Coordinates: 44°36′14.7″N 63°36′31″W / 44.604083°N 63.60861°W / 44.604083; -63.60861

• A brief summary of Spryfield's history and demographics.