The windswept field is supposed to become the site of one of the biggest destinations in the world for Buddhist pilgrims, and attract thousands of tourists each year to the community about 140 kilometres northeast of Toronto.
But a project to build 15 wind turbines nearby is now threatening that vision, according to the Buddhist group that's building the complex.
For 20 years, the Buddhists have been buying land in the Kawartha Lakes area and collecting donations with one goal: recreating the world-famous pilgrimage site of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China for North American pilgrims, the site's development manager, Diane Chen says
The group estimates their site could attract up to 45,000 pilgrims a year who would meditate, sometimes for days, while travelling from one site to the next.
With every piece of sculpture and pillar being shipped by boat from China, then put back together in Canada, construction will likely take decades.
But the Buddhists aren't the only ones interested in the region.
The strong winds that whistle across the site have also attracted several wind farm companies, and so far three projects are in the works to build 15 turbines just a few kilometres from the future temples.
The Buddhists are furious. They say the turbines would be ''smack, bang in the middle'' of their sites and point out part of the land sits on the Oak Ridges Moraine, a protected area.
She said people who visit a pilgrimage site expect a peaceful environment.
The sight of the turbines and noise they make will distract them and ruin their meditation, she explained, especially when they are walking from one site to another.
Already, she said, donations have dwindled because of the turbines.
$80M temple project in rural Ontario threatened by wind turbines, Buddhists say - Toronto - CBC News
But a project to build 15 wind turbines nearby is now threatening that vision, according to the Buddhist group that's building the complex.
For 20 years, the Buddhists have been buying land in the Kawartha Lakes area and collecting donations with one goal: recreating the world-famous pilgrimage site of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China for North American pilgrims, the site's development manager, Diane Chen says
The group estimates their site could attract up to 45,000 pilgrims a year who would meditate, sometimes for days, while travelling from one site to the next.
With every piece of sculpture and pillar being shipped by boat from China, then put back together in Canada, construction will likely take decades.
But the Buddhists aren't the only ones interested in the region.
The strong winds that whistle across the site have also attracted several wind farm companies, and so far three projects are in the works to build 15 turbines just a few kilometres from the future temples.
The Buddhists are furious. They say the turbines would be ''smack, bang in the middle'' of their sites and point out part of the land sits on the Oak Ridges Moraine, a protected area.
She said people who visit a pilgrimage site expect a peaceful environment.
The sight of the turbines and noise they make will distract them and ruin their meditation, she explained, especially when they are walking from one site to another.
Already, she said, donations have dwindled because of the turbines.
$80M temple project in rural Ontario threatened by wind turbines, Buddhists say - Toronto - CBC News
