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| WORKING LANDSCAPES | | CHANGING SKYLINES | | SUSTAINABLE HORIZONS | | ABOUT US / EXHIBIT SCHEDULE |
SUSTAINABLE HORIZONS II
Conservation focused groups formed to protect the land from development, to preserve green space and to manage water and air quality. Green spaces were identified and protected from future
urban development.
Watershed management diagram. Toronto & Region Conservation (TRCA).
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The need to protect our environment, water resources, and natural and cultural heritage was recognized as early as the mid 19th century, but it was only in 1946, with the formation of Conservation Authorities, that urban planning and watershed management formally came into being.
Conservation has been defined as “the wise use of all our natural resources for the greatest good of the greatest number of people over the greatest possible time” E.F. Sutter. A Real Boon to Peel, 1967
Natural ground cover and wetland areas provide us with clean water by absorbing groundwater, reducing run-off rates and filtering out pollution and contaminants.
Trees are most important in improving air quality. By taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere they counter the effects of air pollution and global warming. All natural ground cover absorbs rather than reflects heat, and so offers a cooler and fresher climate for the neighbouring urban landscape.
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Connected green spaces, river valleys and parklands provide an uninterrupted passage for wildlife which is essential to the survival of many species. Maintaining wildlife corridors across the landscape is a primary environmental goal.
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Wildlife corridors connect one natural area to another, providing avenues for animals, pollen, seeds and other genetic material to pass. Hedgerows and narrow wooded strips within agricultural lands provide small-scale, local corridors.
“... a moist woodland corridor that connects a salamander’s core forest habitat to its wetland breeding ground is critical to the population’s survival...” Southern Ontario Woodlands, Federation of Ontario Naturalists.
The Greenbelt, in Southern Ontario, connects Conservation Authority lands, the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Niagara Escarpment, recreational areas, green spaces, rural communities and working landscapes. It preserves our natural and cultural heritage and protects a band of countryside around the major urbanized areas of south-central Ontario.
