This is a pretty random and somewhat hidden find in St. Catharines, Ontario. Located on the banks of Lake Ontario, this is a lovely place to go for a walk in nature. Welcome to Happy Rolph's Bird Sanctuary and the 9/11 Memorial Walk.
There's a small park and a fenced in area with little barns. This is home to a little petting zoo with barnyard animals. It's only open seasonally, so I didn't see any animals during my visit in early spring.
Flowers finally in bloom after a long winter! I walked past the swing sets and across the park towards a small path that I had all to myself.
I passed some beautiful flowers that were finally in bloom after our harsh winter. It was such a welcome sight to witness Mother Nature coming out of hibernation at last.
Jump to:
Happy Rolph's Bird Sanctuary
I continued my walk down the path and reached the pond for the bird sanctuary, where many wild birds live peacefully. I saw some ducks and geese, including some Canada Geese and another white and black goose.
Many other birds live in the giant trees that surround the pond. It was really lovely to enjoy the tranquil view of the pond and the lake, hearing only the gentle calls of the geese as they communicated to one another.
I left the bird sanctuary pond area and continued my walk along a path by the lake. The lake was very calm and the sun was shining brightly. Signs of spring were showing up everywhere - small buds were forming on the trees, and I could see many shades of green dotting the landscape.
9/11 Memorial Walk
I turned the corner and discovered something that I totally did not expect - the 9/11 Memorial Walkway. This section of path was dedicated to Canadians that died in the World Trade Center building during the terrorist attacks of September 11th.
While I do not personally know anyone who died in this tragic event, I was able to pause and think about all of the lives that were affected that day, and how many innocent lives were lost.
27 Canadians died that day, and each person was memorialized by a plaque and a deciduous tree. With the calming view of the lake, it really was such a perfectly peaceful place for this memorial path.
This is a great area to go for a short walk, reflect, admire nature, and observe wild birds. It's a total hidden gem in St. Catharines, Ontario.
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LILY LA says
Beautiful photographs :) love the flowers especially!
Justin and Lauren says
Thank you! The flowers were a very welcome sight after a long winter!
Mary {The World Is A Book} says
What a great find! I love all the Canadian geese photos. It's such a rewarding walk to find something that's so important. We put so much thought here to the 9/11 Memorial and I hadn't thought of other memorials outside of the US. So glad to see this beautiful walk.
Justin and Lauren says
Yes, it is a very modest memorial, but I do like the idea of planting a tree for every life that was lost. Thanks for stopping by our blog :)
Adelina | Pack Me To says
Looking at the map for interesting things to do sounds like a good way to find unexpected adventures. Also, your kitty is adorable! More cats should blog :)
Justin and Lauren says
Yes it definitely helps - sometimes Google maps can show you all kinds of random things that you didn't expect to find in a place! Aww thank you about our cat too, we love him! :)
frankaboutcroatia says
Wonderful photos! And a great discovery since you ended up here without really planning it.
Justin and Lauren says
Thank you so much, and thank you for stopping by! :)
slightly astray says
Lovely pictures of Spring! I feel like I missed spring this year because I left the US before it started, and now I'm going into winter in South America... so it's so nice to experience it virtually! :)
Justin and Lauren says
Oh what a shame that you missed Spring, but it is really fun that you are in South America! I think it is worth missing Spring this time to be there :) Spring is such a great time of year and I'm glad that it has finally arrived here after such a long winter!
Time Travel Plans says
Nice photos, and it's great that there's a memorial for the Canadian victims since we rarely hear about non-Americans who died that day.
Justin and Lauren says
Yes I agree! A memorial to remember the Canadians, and all of the lives that were lost that day.
Rachel says
That could have been a very nice walk, and it does seem like it's worth checking out. I love your photos, especially those flowers and that duck, or goose?, it's just so cute! ;)
Justin and Lauren says
That one goose was pretty unique looking, wasn't he! I hadn't seen one like that before. It was a really nice walk!
Corinne Vail says
Early spring can be hard to capture, but you did a great job...love those pussy willows!
Justin and Lauren says
Thank you so much!
Noel Morata says
What a beautiful walk and yes the memorial is perfect, I enjoyed my visit today, thanks
Justin and Lauren says
Thank you. It was an unexpected find, and it was very nice to walk along the path and think about that day, and the lives that were sadly cut so short...
BavarianSojourn says
What a beautiful place for a memorial...
Justin and Lauren says
I agree. It was very peaceful there!
Ming Lim says
I got sidetracked by your cat's blog. omg! He is adorable.
Justin and Lauren says
Aww yes, he is very sweet! It is adorable watching him grow up!