Welcome Residents of Belfountain.ca

Dear Belfountain Community,

What an incredible milestone — 200 years of Belfountain! The Belfountain Community Organization would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to everyone who helped make this historic celebration such a success. A special thank-you goes to Sarah Bohan, the Belfountain Historical Society, the volunteers, the Regional and Municipal governments, and all the people involved who made it happen for their dedication and tireless efforts in bringing our rich history to life for this memorable occasion. Amazing that our Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote our community a letter recognizing our community milestone

We also celebrate Wendy’s beautiful creation of the new statue in the heart of the hamlet — a lasting tribute to Belfountain’s spirit and story. The hours of creativity, craftsmanship, and community collaboration that brought this artwork to life truly embody what makes our village so special.

 Finally, our sincere thanks to David Spencer for capturing the joy of the day through his photography and generously sharing his images with the community. You can view photos from the celebration here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WxwwBn8QfGZpubMu6.

 Here’s to 200 years of community, creativity, and connection — and to many more ahead!

Warm regards,
The Belfountain Community Organization

Thank you to those people who took the time to protest the bird cannons at Belfountain Estates on Saturday September 27th. 

Attendance was fantastic with 18 people showing their discontent. We received emails from other people in the community indicating they had a conflict otherwise they would have attended too.  

The recording that backs these photographs was recorded in the hamlet off of Bush Street.  The cannons are very directional.  The volume depends on where you are in relation to elevation with the blast cannons and which direction they are pointed.  In the valley is the worst – those living on River Road.  You can also hear the echo all the way down the West Credit valley and back.   Many noticed how loud they were the morning after the protest as example.   Complaints have been received from Cataract, South of the Grange Sideroad, and the ski club areas.    

The blasts from the two cannons (three blasts each) continue all day every day every 4-5 minutes.   The landowner has indicated he will follow his interpretation of the ‘regulations”, and the blasts will continue 1/2 hour after sunrise to ½ hour before sunset until they harvest.  Last year the entire crop was lost even though the blasting cannons were used.    Wonder what will happen this year?

SAVE THE DATE!  

BELFOUNTAIN IS HAVING A 200th ANNIVERSARY PARTY

AND YOU’RE INVITED!

EVENT DETAILS
As many will know by now, the planning for the Belfountain Bi-Centennial celebration is well underway. Your community members have been hard at work organizing a parade and street party for our community’s once-in-a-lifetime event, Saturday, October 4, from 11:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ROAD CLOSURE
Roads in and out of Belfountain will be closed Saturday, October 4th, 10:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. for the festivities.

ROADS AFFECTED

The roads affected will be: 

• Bush Street and River Road closed from Shaw’s Creek Road to Old Main Street
• Mississauga Road (south) closed from Woodland Court to Old Main Street
• Forks of the Credit Road from River Road to Mississauga Road (north)
• Caledon Mountain Estates roads will be closed
• Staging for the 200th Anniversary Parade is on 
  Woodland Court at Mississauga Road

Barricades will be operated by O.P.P Caledon Detachment.  See maps below

Residents will be able to leave if necessary but please notify us in advance if a vehicle needs to leave your property so that our volunteers can escort your vehicle out of the closed road area. Re-entry by shuttle only until after 6pm

PARKING

Free parking is available at the Caledon Ski Club West Lodge Ski Club and Belfountain Public School with shuttle buses available from the ski club to Belfountain, Forester’s Park and BPS, and back throughout the day.

FLOATS, VENDORS AND VOLUNTEERS!

Parade – promote your business, club or collaborate with friends and neighbours to create a float or march together to join the parade! Drive your Vintage car! 

Parade Awards! Win ‘Best Dressed’, ‘Best Parade Display’, ‘Funniest Float’, ‘Peoples Choice’, and more!  

Parade Features

• Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band,
• 2nd York Militia & Canadian Volunteers of 1812 re-enactment co.,
• horses,
• vintage cars,
• Erin Air Cadets, and more!

Vendors 

Be part of the Vendors’ Market! Email us to book your vendor space!

Volunteers – Be part of this epic street party!

ATTENTION STUDENTS! We give COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS!  

ALL VOLUNTEERS receive a free commemorative T-shirt*, lunch and snacks. 

RSVP your participation by sign-up forms available on our socials  @Belfountain200 

OR email to Belfountain Heritage Society: belfountainheritage@gmail.com

*Kindly RSVP your t-shirt size so that we can order the correct # of Volunteer t-shirts. 

JUST A FEW OF THE FAMILY FUN ACTIVITIES

Rain or shine, events of the day will include a parade, with horses, vintage cars, Erin Air Cadets, Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band, Blue Bonnet Lassies Highland Dancers, the unveiling of the new Belfountain Commemorative Sculpture and history plaque, live music, scavenger hunt, quadball games, heritage art show and displays in the Community Hall, vendors, the 2nd York Militia with the Canadian Volunteers will re-enact battles of the 1812 War in Forester’s Park, along with much more!

Make history! Invite your family and friends to come join the fun and be part of Belfountain’s 1-day milestone event organized by your community for the community! 

Questions?  Please contact  Sarah, Evan or Steve at belfountainheritage@gmail.com

The BCO has received a second response from the landowner of Belfountain Estates about the bird cannons.  You can read it HERE.

We continue to take actions to encourage a silent alternative to the bird cannons based on the recent community survey.    Some of the more complicated actions will take time and will be made in effort to help our community and landowner resolve this issue prior to next year’s season.  

This week, our local councilor Lynn Kiernan recommended that we organize a protest on public lands in front of Belfountain Estates to show the landowner that the bird cannons are having a negative impact on our community.    This can show the landowner that just because he says he can use cannons,  doesn’t mean it is it the right thing to do.

If you are interested, we propose Saturday September 27^th between noon and 2 pm.  To support the community, the BCO will provide materials to create your sign therefore we need to know how many participants there will be.  Please email secretary@belfountain.ca to confirm attendance.    

It is extremely important that no one trespasses on the Belfountain Estates property.   The side of the road near 17529 Shaws Creek Road on the gravel shoulder and on any public land across the road does not result in trespassing. Trespassing or causing property damage is not going to help the community’s issue with the landowner. Please take appropriate personal precautions as Shaws Creek Road will have traffic where drivers may not have clear visibility as they drive up the hill.

Thank you,

The Belfountain Community Organization

As you know, we had sent a letter to Belfountain Estates on behalf of our community regarding the use of bird cannons based on your survey feedback.

We have received a response which you can read HERE.

It is clear from this response, that the individual is standing firm regarding continued use of bird cannons and is not taking the community concerns into consideration or looking into noise-free alternatives.

The Belfountain Community Organization is considering next steps in line with your survey responses.  We will have a decision made at our next board meeting on September 17 and communicate this with you.    While we work collectively on your behalf, please do not hesitate to email your concerns directly to Belfountain Estates – Sean Cunningham pigz1@me.com.  CC your email to our Town of Caledon councilors Christina Early christina.early@caledon.ca, Lynn Kiernan lynn.kiernan@caledon.ca and the BCO at secretary@belfountain.ca

Thank you

The Belfountain Community Organization 

Good afternoon,

As a follow up to the recent bird cannon survey and the responses from our community, the letter below was sent to the landowner on the morning of August 27th.  Mayor Groves, Councillors Early and Kiernan, Caledon Enforcement and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food were copied with the letter.  Both councillors heard the cannons first hand yesterday while visiting Belfountain.  We will now wait 5 business days for a reply:

——————————————————————————————————————

August 27, 2025

Mr. Sean Cunningham

17529 Shaws Creek Rd,

Caledon, ON

L7K 0E5

pigz1@me.com

Via Email Only

Dear Mr. Cunningham,

RE: Bird Cannons

The Hamlet of Belfountain has a population of 347 people within 160 dwellings. The Belfountain Community Organization is committed to preserving the rural, heritage and environmental integrity of the Hamlet of Belfountain and its environs.  We are a volunteer organization which began in 1987.   We have evolved as development and other related issues threaten the well being of our community.

In response to numerous complaints by residents about the nuisance noise being generated by the bird cannons used at your farm, the BCO undertook a survey to garner an overall feeling of the community.

As of today, we have received 88 responses.

• 61.6% are very concerned
• 16.2% are some what concerned
• 22.2% are not concerned
•  

The geographic representation of those that responded as concerned or very concerned are located within the hamlet and/or directly adjacent to the West Credit River valley.  Most are within 1km of the point of discharge.  Concerns are associated with disturbing the peace, scaring pets, disruption of daytime sleep for shift workers or harming business.  This is characterized as a disruptive nuisance to the residents of the Hamlet of Belfountain.

One response included this press release regarding Adamo Estate Winery in Hockley and how they are now using an advanced bird deterrent system that does not involve noisy bird cannons. They made this switch after the cannons did not work, numerous complaints about the noise and a negative effect on Hockley Valley Resort and local tourism.     We understand that your cannons did not protect your crop last year.

The bird cannons have been confirmed as a nuisance upsetting the residents of Belfountain.  It would be prudent of you to discuss this matter with Adamo Estate Winery directly.  We ask that you investigate and implement alternative solutions that are not a disruptive nuisance to our community as soon as possible.

A written response to this letter within the next 5 business days would be appreciated as we will be informing residents of your position.

Thank you,

The Belfountain Community Organization

Website – Belfountain.ca  Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BelfountainCommunity/Twitter – https://twitter.com/Belfountainca

Small is Beautiful

SAVE THE DATE!  

BELFOUNTAIN IS HAVING A 200th ANNIVERSARY PARTY

AND YOU’RE INVITED!

EVENT DETAILS
As many will know by now, the planning for the Belfountain Bi-Centennial celebration is well underway. Your community members have been hard at work organizing a parade and street party for our community’s once-in-a-lifetime event, Saturday, October 4, from 11:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ROAD CLOSURE
Roads in and out of Belfountain will be closed Saturday, October 4th, 10:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. for the festivities.

ROADS AFFECTED

The roads affected will be: 

• Bush Street and River Road closed from Shaw’s Creek Road to Old Main Street
• Mississauga Road (south) closed from Woodland Court to Old Main Street
• Forks of the Credit Road from River Road to Mississauga Road (north)
• Caledon Mountain Estates roads will be closed
• Staging for the 200th Anniversary Parade is on 
  Woodland Court at Mississauga Road

Barricades will be operated by O.P.P Caledon Detachment.  See maps below

Residents will be able to leave if necessary but please notify us in advance if a vehicle needs to leave your property so that our volunteers can escort your vehicle out of the closed road area. Re-entry by shuttle only until after 6pm

PARKING

Free parking is available at the Caledon Ski Club West Lodge Ski Club and Belfountain Public School with shuttle buses available from the ski club to Belfountain, Forester’s Park and BPS, and back throughout the day.

FLOATS, VENDORS AND VOLUNTEERS!

Parade – promote your business, club or collaborate with friends and neighbours to create a float or march together to join the parade! Drive your Vintage car! 

Parade Awards! Win ‘Best Dressed’, ‘Best Parade Display’, ‘Funniest Float’, ‘Peoples Choice’, and more!  

Parade Features

• Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band,
• 2nd York Militia & Canadian Volunteers of 1812 re-enactment co.,
• horses,
• vintage cars,
• Erin Air Cadets, and more!

Vendors 

Be part of the Vendors’ Market! Email us to book your vendor space!

Volunteers – Be part of this epic street party!

ATTENTION STUDENTS! We give COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS!  

ALL VOLUNTEERS receive a free commemorative T-shirt*, lunch and snacks. 

RSVP your participation by sign-up forms available on our socials  @Belfountain200 

OR email to Belfountain Heritage Society: belfountainheritage@gmail.com

*Kindly RSVP your t-shirt size so that we can order the correct # of Volunteer t-shirts. 

JUST A FEW OF THE FAMILY FUN ACTIVITIES

Rain or shine, events of the day will include a parade, with horses, vintage cars, Erin Air Cadets, Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band, Blue Bonnet Lassies Highland Dancers, the unveiling of the new Belfountain Commemorative Sculpture and history plaque, live music, scavenger hunt, quadball games, heritage art show and displays in the Community Hall, vendors, the 2nd York Militia with the Canadian Volunteers will re-enact battles of the 1812 War in Forester’s Park, along with much more!

Make history! Invite your family and friends to come join the fun and be part of Belfountain’s 1-day milestone event organized by your community for the community! 

Questions?  Please contact  Sarah, Evan or Steve at belfountainheritage@gmail.com

We would like to thank everyone who has submitted a response to our community survey regarding the noise from the bird cannons.

As of today, we have received 70 responses.

• 58% are very concerned
• 14% are some what concerned
• 28% are not concerned 

The geographic representation of those that responded as concerned or very concerned are located within the hamlet and/or directly adjacent to the West Credit River valley.  Most are within 1km of the point of discharge.  Concerns are associated with disturbing the peace, scaring pets, disruption of daytime sleep for shift workers or harming business.  This is characterized as a disruptive nuisance to the residents of the community of Belfountain.

One response included this news article regarding Adamo Estate Winery in Hockley and how they are now using advanced bird deterrent system that does not involve noisy bird cannons. They made this switch after the cannons did not work, numerous complaints about the noise and a negative effect on Hockley Valley Resort and local tourism.     A representative of the community will follow up with Adamo Estate Winery to ask for further  details.

Based on your feedback indicating the majority of local residents would like the BCO to take some action,  the BCO will write a letter to the property owner of Belfountain Estates Farm, with the results from the survey and the article regarding Adamo Winery.  We will ask Belfountain Estates to investigate and implement alternative solutions that are not a disruptive nuisance to our community.

We will share the farm’s response with you and advise of next steps.

If you have not yet completed the survey, we encourage you to do so as we will be closing it off this Tuesday.

Thank you,

The BCO