When Genevieve Herzog was working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic as an occupational therapist, she would often walk through an overgrown stretch of Ottawa’s hydro corridor.
So her husband, Mike Herzog, cut a small path through the grass field for her.
The next day, on a whim, he returned and carved a heart into the same field.
“It really was an expression of love for my wife and all the wonderful heroes who were front-line workers amid COVID, where we had no idea what it meant,” Herzog said.
Later that evening, he returned to the field to walk his dog and saw an elderly couple walking hand-in-hand through the trail.
“As they approached, they said something along the lines of, ‘Isn’t this nice? We would have never gone through this corridor if it weren’t for the path,’” he said. “And that really cemented my compulsion for continuing to do it, realizing that my mowing was accessibility.”
Five years later, Mike Herzog is still cutting the grass, only now his pathways are helping raise money for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation.
The fundraising campaign, called “Cuts 4 Cardiac Care,” stretches roughly 2.5 kilometres between The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre to Alta Vista Road, where Herzog maintains paths for people to enjoy.
He has even carved out a massive heart, a peace sign and a smiley face into the grass: “Peace, love and happiness,” he says.
For Herzog, supporting the Heart Institute is personal. “They directly elongated my grandfather’s life, and they’ve been doing the same for my father,” he said.
Herzog’s father has been a Heart Institute patient for more than 35 years, undergoing two open-heart surgeries and later receiving a pacemaker.
“Honestly, the last two, three years have been an absolute gift of time and we are forever grateful,” Herzog said. “How can I not be compassionate and want to do all that I possibly can for an institution that has given me the gift of time with the most important people?”
He has already raised more than $6,000.
Lianne Laing, president of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, said the foundation was grateful for fundraising efforts like Herzog’s during the Heart Institute’s 50th anniversary year.
“We’re really aware when people are doing things like this for us, and we want to be able to help support them in the best ways we can,” she said.
Over the years, Herzog said some residents offered to pay him for the work, but he always refused.
“I have never taken a penny of any of the money to do anything,” he said. “My contribution is my time.”
For neighbour Simon Roth, the pathways make him proud of his community.
“I feel like the pathways have a way of kind of reminding us of community and that people are there, just willing to help out from the deepest part of their heart,” Roth said.
Ron Ridley, president of the Riverview Park Community Association, says Herzog’s work has been embraced by nearby residents. “Especially the dog walkers, particularly now that there’s such a big issue with ticks.”
Herzog repeatedly said he did not want the focus to be on himself, but jokingly called the work “very selfish.” Not because he craves recognition, but because of the joy it brings him.
“It allows me to meet people that I want to be around,” Herzog said. “Beautifully, humbly, community-focused people.”
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