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31 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,M ay 23,2019 insidehalton.com *SEE STORE FOR DETAILS *NOOO HST TOMORROW! FRI.MAY 24! one day only! T FRI. onl doors open 8 am! 1276 Cornwall Road, Unit C, Oakville Ontario, L6J 7W5 T: 905-845-0767 • F: 905-845-5552 • www.haxelllaw.com • lawyers@haxelllaw.com Personal Professional Service at Competitive Rates Buying? Selling? Re Call us for a quote at 905-845-0767 ext. 223Jameson Glas GOLDGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOLDLDGOLDLDLDLDLDLD 905-845-0767 ext. 223Jameson Glas OAKVILLE - A former Oakville councillor is be- ing remembered as a life- long learner and as some- one whose dedication to his community endured long after he departed town hall. Mike Lansdown, who served as Oakville's Ward 1 town and regional council- lor from 2004-07, died on April 9. He was 85. A native of England, Lansdown immigrated to Montreal with his family in 1944 when he was just 11 years old. During his early life, Lansdown would graduate from McGill Universityfrom McGill Universityf with a bachelor of science in chemistry, join the Roy- al Canadian Navy Reserve and begin a 40-year career as a marketing manager at DuPont of Canada. Lansdown, his wife Elizabeth and their chil- dren moved to postings in Melbourne, Australia and Wilmington, Del. Lansdown and his fami- ly returned to Canada in 1988, and eventually set- tled in Oakville. His daughter Sarah said that retirement was when her father really bloomed. "He was downsized at 63-and-a-half, and was a person who needed to be busy and feel like they were contributing to soci- ety," she said. "Dad started a second career as a full-time volun- teer with Bronte Creek Provincial Park. He real- ized in the early 90s that if the park did not remain vi- tal, the land would be de- veloped." After researching what other parks were doing to stay popular and relevant, Lansdown helped start the Friends of Bronte Creek Provincial Park - a com- munity-based, nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the natural, cultural and edu- cational resources of the park. Sarah said that her fa- ther hired summer stu- dents to run a gift shop at the park, organized wagon and tractor rides and even became a beekeeper at the park; this allowed people to learn about bees and al- lowed the park to make some money from selling honey. "He would never do a shallow dive into some- thing," said Sarah. "He decided the park would benefit from bees, and so he researched bees and he became a beekeep- er and he joined the Onta- rio Beekeepers' Associa- tion." She said that Lansdown also set up coin-operated animal feeders in the barns, which meant he was always emptying the coins and refilling the feeders. Lansdown's dedication to conservation and envi- ronmental protection could also be seen when he helped found the Oakville- green Conservation Asso- ciation. Sarah said that her fa- ther was particularly proud when Oakvillegreen succeeded in petitioning the Town of Oakville to nearly double the lands dedicated for ecological preservation in the early 2000s. She said when it came to helping the environment, Lansdown didn't shy away from getting his handsfrom getting his handsf dirty - or the hands of his family members, for thatfamily members, for thatf matter. "We've been in the ditch- es picking up garbage since I can remember ... be- fore Earth Day wasfore Earth Day wasf trendy," said Sarah. "My kids are now 28 and 26, and they grew up in the ditches in front of Bronte Creek Provincial Park picking up garbage. That's what we did every year for Earth Day. Dad would pitch an awning and give out doughnuts and water and whatever people need- ed to pick up garbage." Former Oakville mayor Ann Mulvale said that Lansdown was a pleasure to work with during his time as Ward 1 council- lor. She remembers he would always come to council and committee meetings well-prepared and ready to engage. "He was a well-spoken and fair man who could disagree without being dis- agreeable, an art not nec- essarily common to all elected officials," said Mul- vale. "He faithfully strived to speak up for the people of Ward 1, and indeed the peo-Ward 1, and indeed the peo-W ple of Oakville in general. Serving as a member of both councils, he gained valuable insight into the role the province played in requiring Oakville to grow, and the limitations municipally-elected folk had." Mulvale said that Lans- down learned all about provincial legislation and the role of the Ontario Mu- nicipal Board. She said he was clearly disappointed with the limitations im- posed on municipalities by the province. Lansdown would not run for a second term on council, and was succeed- ed by Alan Johnston. The Bronte resident did not slow down after leav- ing council; his daughter said that he began volun- teering with the Halton Multicultural Council, something she said he en- joyed immensely. Lansdown held classes where he taught new se- FORMER OAKVILLE COUNCILLOR'S DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY CONTINUED LONG AFTER HE LEFT TOWN HALL DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS PRESERVING BRONTE CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS WAS JUST ONE OF MIKE LANSDOWN'S PROJECTS See MEMORIAL, page 33 Former Oakville Councillor Mike Lansdown. Lansdown family photo