The Nepahwin Creek, Lily Creek wetland area provides a good example of the development pressures faced by wetlands and floodplains throughout Greater Sudbury.  In the early 1970’s a community led OMB appeal protected a large portion of this wetland, rejecting the proposed development of a shopping centre.  After the construction of playing fields later that decade, it faced  little further encroachment.

Now, forty years later, development pressures on this wetland have sharply increased.  Most of the remaining wetland south of Centennial Drive has been filled in on both sides of Nepahwin Creek:  a new parking lot for Health Sciences North to the east of the creek, and the new St. Denis elementary school, built by the French Catholic School Board, to the west.  Both of these sites have been the subject of large public outcry around the loss of wetland.  North of Centennial Drive, is the James Jerome Sports Complex.   A new artificial turf playing field has been installed, and a new building next to Nepahwin Creek is being completed.  

On both private and public lands, wetlands and floodplains continue to be developed throughout Greater Sudbury.  The costs include increased flooding, loss of habitat, poorer water quality, and loss of natural functions.

This photo essay takes a closer look at one central example, the Nepahwin, Lily Creek wetland across from Science North.