Wanless Park

This island of green space is located in one of the small neighbourhoods of Toronto, just north of Lawrence Avenue between Bayview Avenue and Yonge Street. The park is relatively small in size, with approximately 5 acres of green space.

Recreation
The park is a favourite amongst the neighbouring communities as features an extensive array of fun and recreational activities. Numerous tennis courts, a basketball court, a children’s playground, a wading pool with a lifeguard, a baseball diamond and grass fields. During the winter, a skating rink is installed in the spot of the pool. During the summer, the park is utilized for camps and Ultimate Frisbee tournaments.

Sustainable Initiative
Every April (which is coming soon!) an annual “Clean up a Park Day” take place by the Wanless Park neighbourhood residents. They come out to clean up garbage and clear any non-compostable matter. The day usually falls on the weekend and all of the volunteers are provided with refreshments such as juice, tea and water. In addition, the residents donate and plant trees in the park in the memory of their loved ones. These trees typically have a plaque engraved with a name of their loved one in front of them.


Wanless Park is a great example of how community can encourage and promote sustainability in its city through care for its environment. The idea behind our blog is to inspire more of such green initiatives and instill love for the city's parks and green space.

Riverdale Farm

Located in the heart of downtown community of Cabbagetown, his extrinsic farm offers 7.5 acres of scenic views along the pathways through wooded areas, around ponds, and into butterfly-herb-flower-vegetable gardens. The farm hosts many farm animals such as horses, cows, goats and chickens.


Did you know?

In 1894 the farm opened to become Toronto’s first zoo, but eventually it was closed in 1974 with the animals relocated to the new Toronto Zoo in Scarborough.The park features three buildings that remain from the old Riverdale Zoo! Although the farm isn’t that big in size, it is an urban gem, being located just blocks from the downtown core.

Recreation
Learn and chat with the farmer during daily chores that may include animal feeding, egg collection, cow milking or goat milking, horse grooming, and mucking out the stalls-pens-paddocks. These products will be later sold at a farmer's market.

Tommy Thompson Park

Situated on a man-made peninsula called the Leslie Street Spit, Tommy Thompson Park is an urban wilderness located a few steps away from Toronto's downtown. The Leslie Spit construction began in the 1950's where the area became filled with concrete, dredged sand and construction debris. It now stretches 5 kilometers into the lake. The spit along with the park are owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

Tommy Thompson Park is known as the largest existing natural habitat on the Toronto waterfront. Wildflower meadows, cottonwood forests, coastal marshes, cobble beaches and sand dunes are just some of the existent habitats. Presence of flourishing nature and wildlife makes up for one extraordinary nature-watching site in Toronto. In addition to an impressive natural habitat, the park provides an opportunity to engage in various recreational activities including hiking, cycling, rollerblading and fishing.


Things to do in March
Tommy Thompson is an admirable place to experience the great outdoors. The park is arguably the best in the city bird-watching spot, with over 300 observable species. Also, the park hosts a system of hiking trails and cycling paths which both make up for great spring-time activities. In addition to above activities, the location of the park provides unobscured and picturesque views of the Toronto's famous skyline.

Bird Sanctuary
The Tommy Thompson Park Bird Research Station (TTPBRS) was established in 2003 for protection of birds and their habitats through monitoring, education and research. It is an initiative started by Toronto and Regional Conservation. The bird sanctuary at the park is recognized as a globally significant Important Bird Area or IBA by Birdlife International. The close proximity to a large city and integration of urban wilderness makes the park an ideal venue for bird studies. Education is central to the sanctuary's operations and for this purpose they have developed a curriculum-based program for schools called Winged Migration which provides children with an interactive and exploratory introduction to the world of birds, ecology and conservation. In addition to this program, the TTPBRS offers regular talks and bird banding demonstrations to the general public. The research also runs a number of monitoring and conservation projects. To find out more about the program, you can go to http://www.tommythompsonpark.ca/ttpbrs/index.dot

Natural Heritage

Tommy Thompson Park has developed into a complex of habitats and diverse communities of flora and fauna species. The complex of plant communities found at the park, as well as the rare and significant plant species are a result of the highly variable soil of the site. Because the site was formed through the dumping of construction residues, soil fertility and composition can vary dramatically within very small areas. The area's diverse biological communities and location on Lake Ontario make it an important stopover point for migrating birds, butterflies and other insects.

Seasonal pools are also important breeding areas for amphibians. Although the upland areas do not currently support a great variety of amphibians, as the wooded communities mature, the park has the potential to be one of the few locations across the waterfront capable of supporting woodland dependent amphibians. The ecological value of Tommy Thompson will continue to increase dramatically as the habitat communities mature, and as the lands are enhanced through new and continuing restoration projects.

Habitat Restoration

Toronto and Region Conservation is an industry leader in habitat creation and restoration. The goals
of restoration work at Tommy Thompson Park are to preserve rare species, protect environmentally
significant areas and enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitat. This approach integrates a variety of
wildlife habitats and areas of natural succession to create functional habitats.

For more information visit http://www.tommythompsonpark.ca/

Guildwood Park

Guildwood Park is one of the hidden gems situated at the edge of the city. Located to the eastern edges of Toronto’s lakeshore at 20 Guildwood Parkway, this park is just as much a historical museum as it is a green haven. The park features mature forests, serene walking trails, and historic stone sculptures and arches.

Guildwood Park has been a haven for the arts since 1932 for more than 100 artists and their families to live and work. The private residence was owned by the Clark family however was converted into a base for the woman’s royal navy during the Second World War. The property was returned to the family after the war was over.

Things to do in March: The park has two winding nature trails to suit the needs of various hikers. The first is not for the faint of heart, and makes for a physically active adventure. The trail winds along the lake over the cliffs edge, which makes for breathtaking views and picture perfect scenery. The second is for those who may want to take a shorter and less physically demanding trip, which winds through the forest towards the Guild Inn.

Guildwood Park is more or less a photographers dream. Aside from the amazing scenic views, the park features a vast array of historical artifacts, including a greek style amphitheater, with columns taken from the first Bank of Canada building in Toronto. You can also see an old log cabin dating back to 1795, with a slab of decorative concrete beside it taken from what once was the tallest skyscraper in the British Empire in 1895. The building was at the corner of Toronto’s very own Bay and Richmond! 

Guildwood Park is also a major destination for weddings and other major events. So if wedding crashing is your thing, you know where to go!

High Park

High Park is the largest public park in Toronto. Located in Toronto’s west end near Keele Station, this park features many hiking trails, sports facilities, a man made lakefront, dog park, zoo, playground, eateries, greenhouse, picnic areas, and much much more!

What could you do in March? High Park can satisfy every hikers need - Grenadier Pond is a man made lake, which features long and winding waterfront trails. The zoo is also a really great way of engaging children young and old! It is open all year around from 7am till dusk. The zoo features bison, deer, llamas, peacocks, cattle and more, and best of all – it’s absolutely free! High park also has an amazing playground haven for children. What makes this playground so special exactly? Well it was designed in part by children for one, and consists of castles, ropes, swings, ladders, slides and artwork by kids and volunteers.

Another great winter activity is skating – the summer tennis courts are converted into a skating rink during the cold months, so there is something to do during every season! The hiking trails also make for perfect cross-country skiing. I’m not too sure how much snow we will continue to get in March, but you never really know with Toronto’s crazy weather!

The park also hosts a wide variety of events. Last March, the park hosted a large 5k Run and 1k walk to support Gaza charity. This years events for March have yet to be posted, but the events calendar below can be viewed for any upcoming events:

http://www.highparktoronto.com/events.php