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Algonquin Park
A map with a green outlined area displaying the location and extent of Algonquin Provincial Park in north central Ontario.
Established in 1893, Algonquin Park is the oldest, and one of the largest provincial parks in Canada. The decision to preserve a landscape this large so long ago represents an early example of Canadian environmental stewardship. Algonquin has thriving populations of rare species, including wolf packs, which were all eliminated from unprotected places in the province.
Under legislated protection, Algonquin is sure to remain a natural and intact environment, supporting and maintaining biodiversity, active wildlife research, and public education about the virtues of conservation.
Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt
A map showing a band of green space surrounding the Greater-Toronto Area.
Southern Ontario is home to over 12 million people. It is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Population increase and resulting urban development has put pressure on sensitive lands such as the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Niagara Escarpment (also: wetlands, lakes, rivers, watersheds, forests and farmland). In 2005, the Government of Ontario passed legislation that protects undeveloped land by putting strict limits on how it is used in the future. Greenbelts provide many ecological services including:
Toronto’s Don River: Building on Floodplains
A photograph displaying a section of flooded highway beside the Don River in Toronto.
Few natural landscapes still exist in the heart of Toronto. The Don Valley (best known for its parkway, providing easy access to downtown) has seen ups and downs in both its protection and flooding events. Originally protected, transportation and development pressures have brought changes to the river’s floodplain and increased its risk of flooding. As Toronto gets larger, its concrete surface acts a a giant umbrella forcing precipitation to flow across the urban landscape until it reaches channels like the Don River. Greater water levels reach the river and increase its risk of periodic flooding. Flooding is a normal part of every river system, in fact, flooding is the only way that flood plains naturally replenish/renew themselves with important plant nutrients. Natural floods are a good thing but flood events also re-enter pollution and contaminated soils from past and present industrial activity, amplifying concerns to both human and environmental health. Recognizing the need for improvement, a group of concerned citizens with the help of the City of Toronto created the Don River Remedial Flood Protection Project. This project focuses on updating infrastructure designed to cope with flooding by employing strategies that use the power of nature to limit and control its extent. Some of these strategies involve using native plant species and removing existing human structures in the riskiest areas. The goal of this plan is to reduce risk to people and property, improve ecosystem health, and ultimately use sustainable practices that encourage good stewardship.
Ottawa: Government of Canada Attends 2015 Paris Agreement
A photograph of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau making a speech at The 2016 Paris Climate Treaty negotiations.
Touted as the largest ever global conference on climate change, the Paris Agreement sets out a roadmap for battling the effects of our changing climate. Industrial human activity has thrown off the natural balance of the earth’s systems which control temperature and precipitation. Earth’s natural systems have the capacity to renew themselves and repair a certain level of human degradation (human abuse and/or neglect of natural systems to the point of them being unable to function effectively) to the environment. The Paris Conference was the first time the nations of the earth agreed on ways to address human induced climate change.
Example 1: Earth’s carbon cycle effectively stores excess carbon in trees, the oceans, and even solid rock. Carbon produced during volcanic eruptions or wildfire is pulled from the atmosphere by natural processes, but when humans burn fossil fuels and release unprecedented levels of carbon into the atmosphere, the cycles can not keep up.
Example 2: Earth’s hydrologic cycle takes dirty water and filters it as it travels through wetlands or the ground, restoring its health and capacity to sustain life. Human activity has threatened this ability by creating levels of contamination that the natural cycle is unable to manage. Climate change also alters precipitation levels, causing flooding in some locations and severe droughts in others.
Climate change is already altering the natural cycles of the planet and the Paris Agreement is a good first step in solving the issue. However, no direct actions have come out of it. So, for the foreseeable future, we will experience more frequent and intense natural hazards as a symptom of human induced climate change.