Photo by Cornelius Ejimogu/Spoke Online.

Held on Jan. 25, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Winterloo, an annual cold-weather celebration in the heart of Waterloo brought people together to embrace the winter season in full force.

Goreti Cardoso, a festival and event specialist at the City of Waterloo explained how the weather plays a significant role in attendance. For example, last year, the event was limited to the Waterloo Public Square due to the weather. But this year, Winterloo was a citywide celebration, taking over Uptown Waterloo with a variety of exciting activities for everyone!

From dog sled rides for kids, fun games, and an ice throne perfect for photos to creative ice carvings and the warmth of hot cider and chocolate, there was something for everyone.

♦Canada Geese feed from the green grasses at Victoria Park, Kitchener taken on Oct. 4, 2024.  Photo taken by Cornelius Ejimogu/Spoke Online

As urbanization accelerates, cities worldwide face the challenges of balancing urban development with the preservation of green landscapes. The city of Waterloo, Ontario known for its growth in technology and education sectors, is no exception.

In this continuous urban transformation, lifelong Waterloo resident, William McFaddin, recalled when a tree was planted every 100 feet along the streets near his home. It was during the road reconstruction when temperatures soared to 32°C daily.

“One of them that survived, I carried pails of water and dumped it on that tree to keep it living. The city never came around for watering,” McFaddin said.

♦The only surviving tree near William McFaddin’s home in Waterloo, Ontario taken on Sept. 1, 2024. Photos by Cornelius Ejimogu/Spoke Online.

Pointing at the only surviving tree now seven years old, with its sturdy trunk and modest canopy, the 67-year-old retiree imagined how the street could have looked in the next decade.

“If you picture this road with this tree that size all the way down in another 10 years, this whole walkway will be covered, and it will look nicer. But look what you get; one tree surviving in all of that,” he said.

McFaddin’s dismay highlights a fundamental truth, which is balancing urban development with green space preservation can be challenging. Yet, these challenges do not overshadow the long-term benefits that green spaces provide for well-being and quality of life.

“The presence of vegetation and trees almost acts as a filter for air that will decrease air pollution and acts as buffering effects for temperatures in the cities,” said Su-Yin Tan, a public health expert at the University of Waterloo.

Tan said research has found that reducing green space leads to long-term increases in chronic diseases and public safety. “Like for example, heart disease, mortality rate, asthma, and even things like crime and violence.”

The city of Waterloo recognizes these long-term health risks and benefits, and continues to prioritize preserving green spaces for environmental sustainability and residents’ quality of life, said Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe.

“We just did a 30 kilometre bike ride around the west side of Waterloo. We were looking at neighbourhood parks, green spaces, what’s some of the things we know we’ll probably need to put some more amenities in the next five to 10 years,” said McCabe.

However, the challenge of balancing urban growth with green space preservation is a complex one. According to the population projections from the 2021 Census, there will be 185,000 permanent residents living in Waterloo by 2051, excluding students. This presents a pressing need for expanded housing, and public services.

“We decided probably about 15 years ago that we are not going to look to add more land to our city. Instead of continuing to sprawl, we will build in and up. So, because we’re doing that, it’s a challenge to find pieces of land where we can create green spaces, natural areas, parks, and trails,” the mayor said.

Amid the challenges, the city of Waterloo has implemented several initiatives and strategies to preserve green spaces while accommodating urban development. These initiatives aim to protect ecological integrity while ensuring the community can enjoy the benefits of urbanization.

“We’ve got all the variety of master plans in place, and so we, council get continually updated on where we’re at with meeting the goals that are set out and the strategy that’s set out in those master plans” McCabe said.

The mayor explains that the city of Waterloo uses long-term planning strategies to guide community development, focusing on sustainability and future growth. Through its official plan, which spans at least 10 years and projects up to 2050, the city allocates land for urban tree strategy while specialized plans aim to increase green spaces.

“We make amendments to it sometimes,” she said, noting that the council receives regular updates on the progress of meeting goals outlined in various master plans. Evaluations take place several times a year or annually through asset management programs, helping assess how well the city is adhering to its strategic objectives. This process ensures continuous monitoring and adjustments to achieve long-term goals in the city.

“With the build-up, like high rises and so on, that also means higher population density. So, these can all have really long-term consequences,” said Tan, while emphasizing the need for urban constructions and population to be proportional to green spaces.

Even though it’s challenging to achieve proportional green spaces, the mayor believes the city is getting it right.

“I think we are on a good path,” she reflected with a firm tone. “We have a really solid vision for the future, and we’ll continue to consult with the community to get their input as well,” she added.

As the city of Waterloo faces the challenges of sustaining its growth while preserving its natural landscape, the only surviving tree near McFaddin’s home stands as a reminder of what’s at stake. However, the success of this balance depends on continuously adhering to the city’s master plan, community involvement, and a shared commitment to both progress and preservation.

Austin Ernst-Finnie standing in the Huron Heights Secondary School basketball gym, taken on Nov 25, 2024. Photos by Anashe Mapuranga/Spoke Online

Despite playing basketball since he was 14 years-old, Austin Ernst-Finnie didn’t ever see himself becoming a basketball coach.

“In the beginning I couldn’t shoot. But it wasn’t until I realized that I was working on shooting for seven years of my life that I could probably end up coaching, because I really focus on the details of a lot of the things.” Ernst-Finnie said how he noticed a lot of players would be drawn towards him during pickup basketball games, due to his ability to coach them while on the court.

With that in mind, Ernst-Finnie took a step back from playing and started looking to coach and he’s never had more fun believing in others.

Now 25 years-old, Ernst-Finnie is three years into coaching and is currently in his first year as the head coach of Huron Heights Secondary School senior basketball team in Kitchener, Ont.

He first got the role after seeing a job posting for the position at his former high school and promptly put his name in for consideration.

In addition, Ernst-Finnie is also the coach of the KW Vipers rep basketball U12 team. He further encouraged to pursue that position by parents who said he’d be better coaching older players.

“There’s one thing that I don’t want and that’s a team that should’ve been able to play, not having the chance to play,” he said.

Ernst-Finnie looks on with co-coach Austin Rush while his players are going over set plays in practice, taken on Nov 25, 2024. Anashe Mapuranga/Spoke Online

Ernest-Finnie said his love for basketball came from the culture and swagger of the sport, along with the difficulty and hard work that comes with it. 

“I loved the fact that there were players out there like Kobe (Bryant, who passed away in 2020), who could take on a whole team and still get the W. But it’s also just the teamwork behind it,” he said. “Because even though people thought Kobe was a ball hog, other players had to do specific things for him to get his buckets off, so I really understood the teamwork and the determination from it all too.” 

His first year playing basketball Ernst-Finnie made the high school basketball team. He believed he got lucky to make the team, but said the coach told him he made it because of his determination, effort and hustle. He also said the coach saw him out-hustle a lot of the players on the court, and that would help become a better basketball player. 

The most important lesson that was instilled into Ernst-Finnie as a player was “There’s no I in team.” 

“I’ve played on some teams where the whole offence was built around one player, and I can see how the success wasn’t the greatest there. But once you decide to build the offence around your teams’ strengths, it honestly makes your team a lot better.”

Ernst-Finnie also used LeBron James as an example. He attributed the fact that even though it can look like James is taking on teams by himself, the spacing of the floor players setting screens and distracting other players allows him to do what he wants to do. 

“Because his teams fulfilled their roles and did their jobs, he was able to be the star of the show. And I just love how a team can also bring that one person from the bottom to the top and make me even better than what they think they are,” he said. 

One of Ernst-Finnie’s favourite motto’s as a coach is “no excuses”.

“Nobody gets great by making excuses, nobody gets great by skipping any type of hard work. You get great by putting in the work, you get great by sacrificing all what you want and doing what you need.” 

An important drill that Ernst-Finnie’s teaches is on the defensive end of the ball.  

“A lot of people lack defensive effort and intensity, which definitely comes from the amount of reps that you do because it’s all how your body moves and reacts,” he said. “And the more you practise reading and reacting, the better you get at it, but a lot of people don’t practise defence.” 

Ernst-Finnie also highlights conditioning, in particular running.  

“In general, a lot of people just hate running. If your stamina is down, you got to be able to just push through that. And a lot of coaches at the higher level, they run practices without basketballs, and they just make their teams run.” Ernst-Finnie also focuses on form, shooting and curl drills for layups and jump shooting. 

Ernst-Finnie instructs his players where to go for a practice drill, taken on Nov 25, 2024. Anashe Mapuranga/Spoke Online

Asked about his future coaching, Ernst-Finnie said “I hope to be a coach of a higher level. Even if I could coach for Ontario, maybe even Canada, or in the NBA. I don’t know where, but I just want to be able to coach and train and help players become better players, but also better people at the end of the day.”