Preview of Posts to Come

by John Laforet
posted on June 28th, 2008 at 17:02:18 pm

I had anticipated posting a couple of times this week, but haven’t  had the chance to  do so. Right now I’m reading through the Who’s Hungry 2008 report released by the Daily Bread Food Bank and after the furor that followed the Fraser Institute’s Toronto in Decline? I’ve decided to read that as well. If you have an interest and the chance to read either of these in the next couple of days and want to share your thoughts with me, please drop me a line john.laforet@laforet.ca. I plan to write a bit about each of these reports shortly after Canada Day. 

Rouge Park

by John Laforet
posted on June 22nd, 2008 at 10:35:06 am

After leaving the Relay for Life on Saturday morning, I went to a nature walk put on in partnership with Toronto Tree Tours and Friends of the Rouge Watershed. Jim Robb, from Friends of the Rouge Watershed and one of the park’s strongest advocates, led much of the tour with an Arborist from LEAF Toronto. My primary interest in participating was to visit the Rouge Park again and hear a bit about the local history of the area. Jim did an incredible job in bringing the history alive, and sharing his knowledge of the tree species in the park itself.

The Rouge Park is a massive park. It protects 47 square kilometers of land and strives to preserve the Rouge Watershed. A massive army of volunteers work to reforest aspects of the park, build wetlands and advocate for the inclusion of additional lands for the park. Jim Robb’s group has planted 18 000 trees so far this year alone!

One thing that really surprised me is that the City of Toronto used to have a landfill in what is now the Rouge Park. The challenges a landfill presents for rehabilitation are unique. Much work has been done to contain and capture the gases let off by the waste. This gas is now used to generate enough electricity to power 2 300 homes.  Friends of the Rouge Watershed have been working with partners to restore this land and have done an amazing job of trying to rehabilitate this site. Below is a couple of pictures of Beare Hill – the former landfill site that was used between 1968 and 1983. 

Beare Hill 

Beare Hill

 It really struck me how unique and important it is to have a park like this in a city like ours. But the city landscape is often unavoidable as the needs of residents do impact on the park’s environment. There is a need to allow some roads through the park, one of which we utilized to cross the little Rouge River to double back. Due to its proximity to Durham region, and the amount of power produced in Durham, the giant transmission lines cut through the park to bring electricity to the city. The impact is very visible, but as you will see in the some of the pictures of the wires, the forest has been largely undisturbed on the ravine side.

Power lines looking East

Power lines looking West

I had a great time on my trip to the Rouge and was very happy that the rain saw fit to hold out until much later that evening when I was already in bed, catching up on much needed sleep from the weekend.

Rouge Park is one of Toronto’s hidden treasures that lives on in the former City of Scarborough. If you’re ever looking for an afternoon of exploring, the Rouge is a great place to go and wander along its paths to do so.  Here are just some other pictures I took while at the Rouge on Saturday. 

Little Rouge

Little Rouge with Beare Hill to left                                       

Little Rouge

Little Rouge

Maple Leaf

Very Cool Tree (B&W)

Very Cool Tree (Colour)

 Tall Pines

Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life (Scarborough)

by John Laforet
posted on June 22nd, 2008 at 09:41:45 am

Scarborough’s Relay for Life took place between Friday night and Saturday morning. I had the opportunity to participate as a volunteer at what was truly an amazing event. It was very moving to see the first lap of the track taken by Cancer survivors. Helping out with the luminaries was something that really touched me because each one represents a life either lost, or fighting cancer. When the lights went out and the only light in the dark night came from the candles in the luminaries and the word “HOPE” it was clear to see the impact Cancer has had on the 800 or so participants.

The Canadian Cancer Society’s Scarborough Chapter did an amazing job of putting this event together. Both the food and entertainment were great as well. I am grateful for having the opportunity to participate and look forward to next year’s events. The pictures below are some that I took on Friday night.