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February
2002 Newsletter
Ed
Smee — A True Friend of Red Hill Valley
We
are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Ed Smee
in his 89th year. Ed was a true friend of Red Hill Valley
and a tireless voice for the environment in the Hamilton
area.
 In
1969 he was a co-founder of Clear Hamilton of Pollution
(CHOP) and went on to be its president from 1972 to 1974.
CHOP evolved into the Conserver Society of Hamilton and
District, the organization that gave birth to Friends of
Red Hill Valley. In the early 1970s Ed organized the Federation
of Environmental Groups. In 1972 they produced the first
inventory of natural areas in Hamilton, which helped spur
efforts to stop a proposed expressway in the Red Hill Valley.
In 1973, CHOP (with Ed as President) and the City of Hamilton
jointly sponsored a public walk in the valley that was attended
by city councillors and members of Hamilton's Board of Control.
These efforts led directly to the unanimous adoption of
a resolution by City Council in 1974 to "permanently
preserve the Red Hill Valley as parkland".
In
1980, Ed organized the first Environmentalist of the Year
awards, and in 1983 was honoured with the Dr. Victor Cecilioni
Award as Hamilton's Environmentalist of the Year. He helped
establish an environmental trust fund that now bears his
name and to which we urge you to make contributions in his
memory.
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