The Creek by John Caverhill Several small streams are all born within a few kilometres of each other just west of Hyde Park Road around the village of Ilderton. At Vanneck, just two roads west of Hyde Park Road, these streams have converged to become the single waterway known as Bear Creek. The countryside through which this creek passes is generally level with no extreme elevation changes, resulting in a gentle water flow. Lacking the force of a strong water current, Bear Creek meanders back and forth as it picks the easiest way through the countryside. On the western side of the village of Poplar Hill at the Egremont Road crossing, Bear Creek has been promoted to become the Sydenham River. Because of its meandering ways, in the short distance from Ilderton to Pike Road just west of Strathroy, the waterway has the dubious honour of 18 road crossings to its credit. The stretch of Bear Creek across the road from our farm was representative of its whole length. In summer, wide shoulder- depth pools were interspersed with narrow trickles barely deep enough to cover one’s foot. The land on either side of the creek also varied greatly. In places, grassy pastureland grew right to the water’s edge. Lower areas tended to be marshy in some seasons and dry in others. Very low areas were swamps all year long. These variations which extend the length of the whole system led to a great diversity of plant and animal life. Bulrushes, which we called cat-tails because of their brown velvety heads, grew in masses in marshy areas and even in roadside ditches that were wet most of the year. These slender, graceful reeds sheltered birds, frogs, and turtles.
Bear Creek at Bear Creek Road and Ivan Drive, facing east, early Spring.
Today only scattered thin pockets of bulrushes survive. Two main reasons for their disappearance are: the draining of wetlands, their natural habitat, and the unintentional but destructive introduction of Phragmites, a tall invasive grass that overwhelms all native plants. The roots of Phragmites are so dense that march dwellers such as turtles or frogs are unable to penetrate and use them as shelter, so they are useless as habitat for native wildlife.
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Page 10 Ilderton and Area Villager • April 2025
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