There are a few publicly accessible vistas into the Coves ponds since most of the shoreline of the Coves is privately owned. One exception to that is Greenway Park. Access the park just west of Wharncliffe Rd. on Springbank Dr. through the Thames Valley Parkway Trail or Greenside Avenue.
It is our belief that if more people are aware of the Coves and their condition, that more resources will be put toward rehabilitation and maintenance of this beautiful, environmentally significant area. Thankfully, with support from the City of London, Friends of the Coves is able to utilize the small public portion of the Coves which lies in Greenway Park to inform and invite people to experience the Coves Environmentally Significant Area.
Friends of the Coves Subwatershed have several ongoing projects in Greenway Park working towards improving and increasing natural habitat for plant and animal species native to the area, including:
- Planting and maintaining woodland and meadow naturalization areas
- Planting and maintaining Swallowtail Grove (a native plant butterfly garden) with an interpretive sign and a sitting area
- Building and monitoring bird nestboxes
See a map of the east end of Greenway Park with naturalization areas and Swallowtail Grove
At the foot of Springbank Drive, near the intersection of Horton and Springbank, Swallowtail Grove was planted and is still maintained by Friends of the Coves volunteers. Swallowtail Grove is a butterfly garden containing native plants required by butterflies for food and habitat - there is an interpretive sign on site. The grove is accessible from a mowed path through Greenway Park or an extension to the paved Thames Valley Parkway Trail that connects with Springbank Dr.
In the future we hope to:
- Install a sign to welcome visitors to the Coves Environmentally Significant Area and interpret some of its natural features
- Establish a shoreline lookout over the West Pond with a bench and a trail connection to the Thames Valley Parkway trail
