Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
A Toronto Case Study
I chose the city of Toronto for this case study because of the expanding cultural diver-
sity of its population. Along with increasing cultural diversity, there is a transformation
of values, goals, and beliefs away from those of the long-dominant culture of earlier
European immigrants (predominantly English and French in eastern Canada)
(Pestieau and Wallace 2003), and toward more globally inclusive perspectives. My fol-
lowing analysis looks at how inclusive ecological restoration is being practiced by
prominent organizations through the following processes: (1) connecting urban resto-
ration to traditional landscape practices, (2) forging new community connections, and
(3) combining ecological restoration projects with community development work.
Connecting Urban Restoration to Traditional Landscape Practices
My interviews with restorationists working on projects in the city of Toronto revealed
that local organizations are reimagining how to engage the population in urban eco-
logical restoration to further strengthen and solidify connections between people and
nature. For example, instead of examining the landscape through an exclusively eco-
logical lens, the nonprofit organization Evergreen and the Toronto-based Hispanic
Development Council are combining social, cultural, and educational programming
alongside their grassroots urban ecological restoration work (Rebekka Hutton, pers.
comm.).
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Evergreen is a nonprofit organization with the goal of restoring and creating urban
green spaces in Toronto. Urban ecological restoration through Evergreen focuses on
connecting a variety of urban greening activities with more traditional ecological res-
toration projects. Part of the Evergreen plan for connecting people to urban ecologi-
cal restoration requires that they prioritize issues specific to urban areas, especially ur-
ban areas with diverse populations. Increasing tree canopy and plant diversity in green
spaces within lower-income neighborhoods, while leaving areas for recreation and
cultural activities, have been incorporated into Evergreen's programming in response
to the organization's work with diverse communities (Rebekka Hutton, pers. comm.).
According to Rebekka Hutton, community development project manager with
Evergreen, many people feel that the current idea of ecological restoration as a pur-
suit of “wilderness” does not fit with their ideas of how people interact with the natu-
ral world, especially in an urban setting. This leads to a disconnect between what peo-
ple consider “real life” interactions and ecological restoration. Traditional urban
ecological restoration programming and, in fact, the foundation on which Evergreen
operates, is stewardship of the landscape, which involves teaching care of the land and
helping to build pride and ownership of local green space through a network of vol-
unteer stewards. Forming and reinforcing the connections between ecological resto-
ration and other types of urban greening projects, such as community gardening,
make the concept of urban ecological restoration more relevant and connect to issues
that are vital parts of everyday life, such as food security and health (see chap. 15, this
volume). Linking social and environmental aspects of urban greening makes ecologi-
cal restoration more accessible to a broader range of urban residents.
