Scottish-born Ebenezer Birrell (1801-1888), with other local farmers, imported the cattle that became the progenitors of the Canadian shorthorn breed. A landscape painter, Birrell produced an award-winning oil on canvas of a pastoral scene – called Good Friends. Here, transposed as ghostly figures on a corner of his land in north Pickering, are some of Birrell’s good friends. Photo credit: Lisa Rance, October 2014
Not abandoned. The Canadian government annexed the Pickering “Airport Lands” in the 1970’s without having followed through with the development of a regional airport. It leaves the perimeter communities in limbo. Activist group Land over Landings seeks to restore these areas to agriculture, and to halt the destruction of heritage structures. Photo credit: Lisa Rance, August 2011