Fab Family Day in the Falls
Heartland Niagara owner Dan Bouwman will tell you every day is Family Day to him.
But on actual Family Day, he’s surrounded by thousands of his best friends.
Cars lined the streets all around his barrier-free nature sanctuary just off Kalar Road Monday to celebrate Winterfest. Timed for Family Day weekend, it gathered artists, woodcarvers and animal experts to go with the 37-hectare facility’s already huge list of things to do.
“This is keeping me young,” says the owner of Dan’s Produce, who purchased the property in 2000 with a loan from legendary Niagara Falls philanthropist Frank Branscombe.
“We’re making such a difference in people’s lives. When they leave here, it’s all smiles.”
From the start, Bouwman wanted the property to be completely wheelchair accessible. It became more obvious when his granddaughter Sydney was born with a severe disability.
Since then, Heartland Forest has become the gold standard for accessibility. To the point representatives from the City of London recently visited to take notes, he says.
The community has responded with countless donations and volunteer hours, adding to the park’s pedigree every year. What was once just a series of nature trails now has a turtle pond, playground, mini putt and nature centre.
It has become a second job for Bouwman, who still rises early every morning to work at Dan’s Produce before spending his afternoons and nights at Heartland Forest.
“If you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s so much fun,” he says.
Renata Gawem has worked with Bouwman at Heartland for four years.
“I really don’t know how this man gets the energy from, but he keeps going,” she says.
Inside the nature centre, which opened in 2013, local artists including Christopher Pew had their hands full keeping hundreds of kids occupied. The co-owner of the Fae Nature Gallery on Queen Street had a table set up for children to paint mini faerie doors. They’ll then be placed throughout the forest for the kids to search for later, says Pew.
“We send them a photo of their door, and they have to find them when they come back later.”
Family Day activities were also going on at Niagara Falls History Museum, which hosted a scavenger hunt and Juno Awardnominated singer Mike Ford.