As the first flashes of crimson and gold appear on city trees, a team of enviros is urging residents to journey into Toronto’s ravines for a nature love-in.
Call it a rush to watershed consciousness.
The groups behind Love the Ravines, which launched last week, are trying to remind locals that we’re living smack in the middle of one of the largest ravine networks in the world.
The miraculous stretches of woods, streams, rivers and marshes that weave their way through our neighbourhoods – filtering our air and water, feeding our spirits and connecting us to the city’s pre-colonial and settler history – need more attention, it seems, than they’re getting.
That’s the view of campaign sponsors Environmental Defence, Toronto Environmental Alliance, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, Dot Dot Dash and Patagonia, which is why they’re pushing council to designate our river basins – particularly the Don and the Humber – as part of the official Greenbelt, and to get other municipalities to do the same. (T.O. councillors started moving on this in 2010 but have since stalled.)
Our watersheds are already regulated by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, but a Greenbelt designation, organizers say, would create a double guarantee against development threats and shifts in political goodwill. It wouldn’t take much, they warn, to slide back to the days when you couldn’t spot a live fish in the Don.
NOW talks to Aidan Grove-White of Environmental Defence about what’s at stake.
What threats do urban ravines like Toronto’s face?
We’re concerned about development encroaching on land that ravines need to stay healthy. We must protect our green spaces so they’re allowed to perform their natural role in the river ecosystem – providing space for trees and animals, safe distances for natural erosion, essential habitat and water filtering – all of which helps to reduce flooding in the GTA.
Our ravines also need infrastructure that can better handle extreme weather like the storm we experienced earlier this year. In storms, filthy water from sewers and stormwater pipes overflows into the rivers. Litter is a problem, too this hurts the animals and plants that call the ravines home.
What will the official Greenbelt seal do for our rivers?
At 1.8 million acres, Ontario’s Greenbelt protects environmentally sensitive areas and prime farmland from sprawl and encourages the GTA to grow in a way that creates more walkable, sustainable communities. Just as important, the Greenbelt protects the sources of the major watersheds that supply the GTA with much of its drinking water.
Human, plant and animal life depends on the rivers that connect the Greenbelt to Lake Ontario. Bringing ravines into the protective fold would help safeguard our drinking water and air and reduce the impacts of flooding.
Plus, it would ensure that even as the city grows, with more towers of steel and glass, Torontonians would have green space nearby.
What has the city done to protect the Greenbelt?
We’re pleased that council recently approved a motion in principle to include the Humber and Don into the Greenbelt. Municipal staff produced a feasibility report that identified a few hurdles, but the good news is that in January 2013, Ontario unveiled its new urban river valley designation that cleared these barriers.
Are you worried about threats to Ontario’s Greenbelt?
Many municipalities are struggling to balance rapid population growth with the needs of their environment. Vaughan is a perfect example the speed of expansion is vastly outpacing efforts to protect the city’s natural heritage and its benefits. There are some developers who want to make money the old-fashioned way – by paving over green space and building far-apart, car-dependent communities.
They want to weaken the controls on development in the farmland and green spaces between the urban areas and the Greenbelt. It’s important that nature isn’t a long car ride away. And that GTA residents can have access to fresh, local food.
How is ravine awareness tied to the bigger enviro picture?
The healthier our ravines, the better they’ll be at helping mitigate climate change, as well as helping us adapt to what can’t be mitigated. If we want more involvement in protecting our shared environment, it can only help if more people feel connected to nature.
What’s your favourite ravine?
Recently, my dad and I rode our bikes by the Humber all the way to Vaughan from downtown. We explored monuments and plaques commemorating Hurricane Hazel, old mills and their weirs, stone bridges, modern bridges, beautiful, wide-open marshes and flood plains. Just gorgeous.
How to really love the ravines
SIGN THE PETITION Let city council know you want to see river valleys like the Don and Humber officially added to the Greenbelt. Sign the petition at lovetheravines.com.
POST YOUR HEART OUT Post pics and tweets using the #LoveTheRavines hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. They’ll show up on the lovetheravines.com map.
GET INVOLVED Volunteer with park groups that help keep ravines clean. Find your local group or start your own at parkpeople.ca.
GET MOVING Go for a leisurely walk, strenuous hike, inspired jog or bike ride in our incredible ravine system. Just be sure to stick to trails and avoid streams and rivers.
adriav@nowtoronto.com
