The High Park Stewards in-field stewardship events resumed in July 2021 after being put on hold due to COVID-19 resurgences during the first part of the year. The first event for 2021 was held on July 25th. Similarly to last…
Blog – What’s NewNews and updates
Natural Environment Survey Results
The High Park Natural Environment Committee recently conducted a survey of members and supporters. The results are now available here. It’s heartening to see how much support there is for better protection of High Park’s natural environment, and in particular…
High Park Stewards Newsletters pdf versions of newsletters sent to Stewards
October 2021 Due to COVID restrictions Urban Forestry is sending out invites to on-site sessions to those who were active in 2019 or have signed up to receive them since them. The general High Park Stewards email list is for…
Hawk Migration is Underway High Park Hawk Watch - Visitors Welcome!
The High Park Hawk Watch got off to a “flying” start with several bald eagles on September 1st. It continues daily until November 30. Hawks generally fly when the winds are from the northwest. Keen birders monitor the weather report…
High Park Movement Study and Survey Your Opportunity to Speak Up for High Park
The City is launching the High Park Movement Strategy: “a study to improve the travel network for High Park and better serve park users and the community.” The first step is an online survey. More information can be found on…
LDD (Gypsy) Moth Caterpillars Lymnatria dispar dispari - The "LDD Moth"
If you’ve been walking through wooded areas in the park recently, you may have heard what looks like a gentle rain pitter pattering around you. Not rain, but the munching of hundreds of Gypsy Moth caterpillars! They have been feeding…
TRCA’s 2019 Terrestrial Biological Inventory of High Park View virtual presentation
Presentation Link and Follow-Up Q&As now available! Learn about the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority’s methodology, findings and observations as presented in the final High Park Terrestrial Biological Inventory Report, 2019. A question and answer opportunity followed the presentation. Urban…
Purple Martins and Other Bird News
The Purple Martin house at the south end of Grenadier Pond was cleaned out on April 14 by volunteers led by David Creelman, in preparation for this year’s arrivals. Last year there were several successful nests, and hopefully this year…
Sakura – Cherry Trees in High Park How this Japanese tradition came to High Park
High Park’s cherry trees will not be accessible for viewing in person this year due to COVID-19. Learn more about virtual blossom viewing. The ritual of Sakura (cherry blossom) Hanami (flower viewing) comes to us from Japan where it has…
5 Important Ways to Protect Wildlife in Toronto As Spring approaches, we look forward to a new year of gardening, stewardship, bird watching and protecting the natural habitats we care about.
As Spring approaches, we look forward to a new year of gardening, stewardship, bird watching and protecting the natural habitats we care about. Some things can be accomplished by groups of people and others can be done at home. For…
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…
No Prescribed Burn in 2021
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Urban Forestry will not undertake a prescribed burn in High Park and South Humber Park in 2021. Instead, efforts will be focused on working to complete long term planning, and evaluating progress in habitats…
Harvesting Ice at Grenadier Pond
In the days before artificial refrigeration Torontonians harvested ice from local natural sources—including Grenadier Pond. To learn more about ice-cutting at Grenadier Pond, read this article in Torontoist.com by David Wencer. Those days are long past! In more recent winters…
High Park Stewards Summary 2020
Due to COVID-19 restrictions we were limited to holding only 5 of the usual 13 sessions between August and November with a maximum of 8 participants per session. This resulted in 37 participants who came out to High Park Stewards field…
High Park Christmas Bird Count 2020 Results
by Bob Yukich. The annual High Park Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020 (a mild cloudy day with no snow-cover). Our route ended up with 51 species including some great finds, making it one of our…
Now available – the latest issue of our UPDATE newsletter
Please see the December 2020 issue of our UPDATE newsletter for a summary of the past year’s news and activities involving the High Park Natural Environment Committee, High Park Stewards and our City partners. 2020 has been a year like…
Welcome to Our New Website!
Since the High Park Nature website was first launched in 2010, it has provided a wealth of information about the natural features of High Park. Now we are pleased to present our new WordPress site – designed to perform well…
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…
Toronto Star article, January 13, 2020 by Kate Allen
“We love High Park for its natural beauty. Will that love be the death of it?” Read the article or The Star Pressreader version
High Park Christmas Bird Count Results 2019
The annual High Park Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019 (a very windy day). The High Park route ended up with 43 species, our lowest since 2007. Dark-eyed Junco and Rock Pigeon numbers were the lowest…
