A traditional and prescribed burn will take place in High Park on Thursday, April 17, 2025. This burn is part of an ongoing practice to manage and care for the land, specifically aimed at restoring the Black Oak Savannah ecosystem.…
Category: Conserve
Traditional and Prescribed Burn Spring 2025 Advance Notice
The City of Toronto in collaboration with Indigenous Land Stewardship Circle (ILSC) is once again preparing for the annual traditional and prescribed burn program this spring in High Park. Here is the advanced burn notice. The map on the notice…
Phragmites Removal Project at Grenadier Pond Fall 2024 update
Phragmites removal at Grenadier Pond is tentatively scheduled for September 16 to 20, 2024, weather dependent. The following information has been provided by Urban Forestry: Our goal for this project is to significantly reduce the Phragmites population size over the…
Algae warning at Grenadier Pond
Signs warning of blue-green algae have been posted at Grenadier Pond (sign first noticed on Sept. 1, 2024). Blue-green algae can rapidly increase to form a large mass or “bloom” when conditions are favourable. For more information on harmful algal…
Protecting Wildlife – A new role for volunteers 2024 Traditional and Prescribed Burn
People have asked about the safety of the animals in High Park during the traditional and prescribed burn. The prescribed burn in High Park is a low-intensity fire as is appropriate for savannahs and woodlands. Flames stay very low and…
First Occupants of Our New Purple Martin House 2023 Update
Contributed by David Creelman FALL UPDATE: In October, the old purple martin house on the south shore of Grenadier was replaced with a brand-new easy-to-maintain house. Another big thank-you to TRCA! Earlier this year, ‘The Martineers’, a small group of…
The View from Here Grenadier Pond joins worldwide Chronolog project
A new Chronolog mount has been installed at the lookout pier on Grenadier Pond by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). This pilot project invites visitors to take digital pictures of the same view over time and post them…
INVASIVE PLANT CONTROL CONTINUES DOG STRANGLING VINE MANAGEMENT, SUMMER 2023
Urban Forestry will continue with management of Dog Strangling Vine in High Park over the next 3-4 weeks this summer. Staff have been strategically and actively managing a small number of areas of vegetation within High Park for over 20…
PRIME NESTING TIME FOR TURTLES HELP PROTECT HIGH PARK'S TURTLES
High Park is home to two native, at-risk turtles—the common snapping turtle and the Midland painted turtle. A third, the invasive red-eared slider is native to Mexico and the southern US, usually a pet later released into the ponds. Nesting…
Movement Strategy Fails to Put Nature and Pedestrians First High Park Movement Strategy enters final phase
Focus on Protecting Nature When work on the City-led High Park Movement Strategy began in 2021, more than three-quarters of people surveyed sent a clear message : Enhancing and conserving the park’s ecological integrity should be a high priority in…
Prescribed Burn Thursday, April 13, 2023 24 hour Notice
Urban Forestry will undertake a prescribed burn in 5 locations in High Park on Thursday, April 13. Be aware that the park will be closed to vehicles on burn day. See notice below for details and map. Prior to European…
Invasive Tree Removal Woody invasive trees are removed in winter by Urban Forestry
With the longer days of February, activity in High Park is gearing up for spring. Specifically, Urban Forestry is removing large invasive trees. This initiative is part of the City’s Urban Forestry’s Natural Area Management program for the restoration of…
High Park Nature UPDATE News from the Natural Environment Committee, January 2023
These items were discussed at the January 2023 meeting of the High Park Natural Environment Committee: A prescribed burn tour in November with TRCA, city staff and members of the committee assessed the condition of different of burn sites in…
Call for a Ban on Fishing at High Park’s Grenadier Pond Time to put nature first
For at least a decade the High Park Natural Environment Committee (NEC) has been urging the City of Toronto to put an end to fishing at Grenadier Pond. The committee’s concerns are well documented in a series of letters to…
Where there’s smoke, there’s renewal Article in Toronto Star, May 14, 2022
The High Park Stewards and the prescribed burn that took place on April 29, 2022 are both featured in an article by Emily Waugh in the Toronto Star. Read the article as it first appeared online or the Pressreader version…
Prescribed Burn Returns on April 29, 2022
Urban Forestry will undertake a prescribed burn in 4 locations in High Park on Friday, April 29. Be aware that the park will be closed to vehicles on burn day. See notice below for details and map. Indigenous people, the…
Leave the Leaves for Wildlife and more things to do this spring… Don't clean-up your garden just yet insects need some time to grow
Now that spring-like weather is here, we gardeners are desperate to “get in the garden” but the insects need us to hold on just a little bit longer. Garden waste pickup begins next week (March 15) but we urge you…
New Treatment for Buckthorn Demonstration Trial Summer 2020
This summer Urban Forestry is partnering in a demonstration trial with BioForest, a forest pest management company, to manage invasive buckthorn shrubs using the bioherbicide Chontrol Peat Paste. The active ingredient Chondrostereum purpureum is a naturally occurring fungi in forest…
