Reflection Garden

Sponsored by the Canadian Federation of University Women, Guelph Chapter, the Reflection Garden was donated to the City as a Millennium gift in memory of the 14 female engineering students slain in Montreal’s École Polytechnique massacre on December 6, 1989.

The garden, designed by Guelph landscape architect Wendy Shearer, consists of two large, slightly curved wrought iron screens made up of seven flower stems each. The buds on the top of the stems symbolize the lives of the 14 women. The buds will never open, just as the fourteen young women were never able to develop to their full potential. The Reflection Garden is located at the confluence of the Speed and Eramosa Rivers and provides an area where one can reflect on many things, including the significant losses to our community which are caused by violence.

The garden was designed by landscape architect, Wendy Shearer, and the wrought-iron gates crafted by James Wallace.

The 14 women slain at Ecole Polytechnique (The Canadian Press)

Maryse Laganiere

Maryse Leclair

Maud Haviernick

Anne Marie Lemay

Anne Marie Edward

Annie St. Arneault

Annie Turcotte

Barbara Daigneault

Barbara Klucznik

Genevieve Bergeron

Helene Colgan

Michele Richard

Nathalie Croteau

Sonia Pelletier

About the artists

Wendy Shearer

Wendy Shearer is principal of Wendy Shearer Landscape Architect Limited, based in Guelph Ontario. For the past 22 years the firm has specialized in the research, documentation, assessment and conservation planning of cultural heritage landscapes. Wendy Shearer is an active member of the professional heritage community with her involvement in the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation and the Heritage Conservation Professional Interest Group of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She has been a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Heritage Consultants since 1990 and was adjunct professor at the University of Guelph between 1995 and 1999. Wendy has been involved in numerous heritage projects throughout Ontario including heritage conservation district studies for rural settlements and urban neighbourhoods. As well, she has worked on the restoration and management planning of several historic parks, gardens and estates from the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Wendy has been a frequent invited speaker in the United States and Canada on heritage landscape issues.

Wendy Shearer

James Wallace

James opened his blacksmith shop in Benmiller, Ontario in 1979. Named, Sharp’s Creek Forge, after a small creek that ran nearby, he pursued commissions that offered a chance to combine artistry with function. Over the years he and his staff have created works for local governments, museums, universities, civic groups, hotels, restaurants and private residences. James is also a founding member and past president of the Ontario Artist-Blacksmith Association (OABA), formed in 1983.

Blacksmith James Wallace works in his workshop near Goderich. (Photo credit: Craig Glover/The London Free Press)

About the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW)

CFUW is a non-partisan, voluntary, self-funded organization with over 100 CFUW clubs, located in every province across Canada. Since its founding in 1919, CFUW has been working to improve the status of women and to promote human rights, public education, social justice, and peace. Every year, CFUW and its clubs award close to $1 million to women to help them pursue post-secondary studies. CFUW also provides funding for library and creative arts awards. CFUW clubs provide life-long learning opportunities and fellowship to its members. There are over 100 lecture series, 200 book clubs and 75 issues groups offered by CFUW clubs. CFUW clubs are involved in community outreach on such initiatives as working to prevent violence against women, child poverty, early learning and child care.

CFUW holds special consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC) and belongs to the Education Committee of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. CFUW regularly sends a delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. CFUW is the largest affiliate of Graduate Women International which represents women worldwide.

The Guelph Chapter was founded in 1945.

Location

Speed/Eramosa Walking Trail at confluence of Speed and Eramosa Rivers, Guelph, Ontario N1H 4H6