MILNE HOLLOW (Lawrence Avenue E., Don Valley Pkwy.)
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MILNE HOLLOW (Lawrence Avenue E., Don Valley Pkwy.) WaOnce an active industrial l site k in the 19th century, Milne Hollow demonstrates how a natural greenspace, two railways and an expressway can coexist in an urban environment, yet give the feeling of being in the wilderness. Public Transit: Getting there: The TTC 54 Lawrence East bus operates from the Eglinton subway station. Get off at Railside Road and walk 10 minutes down toward the Don Valley Parkway on the south side of Lawrence Avenue East to enter Milne Welcome to Milne Hollow, is one of the oldest frame houses in 1 Hollow at Old Lawrence Avenue. a six-hectare park on the East Toronto. The house faces Old Lawrence Getting home: Catch the TTC 54 Lawrence East bus to return to the Eglinton subway Don River. In 1850, this area was a Avenue as it detoured down the east station. thriving community of 16 buildings wall of the valley, wound through the *Public transit routes and schedules are subject to change. Please check with provider. TTC Information: www.ttc.ca or 416-393-4636. including houses, barns, a woolen mill, settlement, crossed the river and rose YRT Information: www.yrt.ca or 1-866-668-3978. a sawmill, a dry goods store, housing for up the west wall to rejoin the straight Parking: Two lots - The Sauriol lot is south off Lawrence Ave E at the Sauriol workers and several sheds. concession road. Miraculously, this sign. The Moccassin Trail Park lot is accessed off Don Mills Road, turn east on house survived the 1878 flood and was In 1827, Alexander Milne built a three- Donway East, and south on Moccasin Trail. used until the 1960s. storey mill on Wilket Creek in Edwards Gardens, but because of a low water The two steel towers on the Level of Difficulty/Accessibility: All pathways are hard-surfaced with the 3 exception of the mown grass part in Moccasin Trail Park; however these points supply, relocated to this spot five years hillside are T-bar supports from (points 13 and 14) may be viewed from the paved path for stroller and wheelchair later. His second mill, near the parking the former Don Valley Ski Club. This accessibility. lot, was a long rambling one-storey slope was cleared for the 1934 Ontario building powered by a 15-foot overshot Championship Ski Meet that attracted Approximate Time: 1 to 2 hours. wheel. By 1861, Milneford (Milford) 10,000 spectators. Straw bales Mills produced over 2000 metres of protected skiers from crashing into cars cloth per year and almost 122,000 in the parking lot. By the early 1970s, Distance: 3.7 kilometres. metres of lumber. A devastating flood this area was abandoned once again. in 1878 swept away the mill-dam, logs We are in the Don Watershed, Caution: Be aware of cyclists and other trail users at all times. in the pond, both mills and the bridge. 4 a 360 square kilometre part of Use the trails at your own risk. Today, two cement abutments from the rebuilt bridge stand behind the pond as the GTA draining into the Don River and monuments to the past. its many tributaries. This watershed extends 38 km from its source in the Known as Milne House, this Oak Ridges Moraine to its mouth at the 2 gothic revival-style farmhouse, Keating Channel where it empties into built around 1865 for William Milne, Lake Ontario. In 1950, only 15% of the 1 Current as of July 2018 2 watershed was urban, whereas now, it 2005, when flash storms in both July allows the seeds to be carried great Above you is the active CPR 7 is over 80% that is urban. and August drenched the Watershed distances. Sadly, no single method or track, passing over the trail on a around Steeles Avenue, sending record combination of methods are able to high viaduct as it connects Toronto with During heavy storms, overflow water amounts of water through the ravines. eradicated Dog-strangling Vine. All Ottawa and beyond. This track is the from the East Don flows into Milne The July 2013 storm was the most we can hope for is the development same one that passes through Rosedale Stormwater Pond pond where it is costly in the history of the Don. Many of a biological control, but that will and near Summerhill at Yonge. held, naturally filtered and slowly millions of dollars were spent restoring take several years. In the meantime, released back into the river. Flood the bridges, channels and also the native plants, large and small, are being You now cross this new bridge control focuses on delaying the flow 8 fairways in the Donalda Golf Course smothered. to the west side of the river and of floodwater to prevent flooding and yes, there are salmon in the East Don, that’s one of the roles of these ponds. located immediately north of Lawrence Avenue. The far bank shows one In early spring, flowers of Garlic Mustard but only in the fall. Back in the early These Toronto Bird Flyway markers tell example of stabilization, an attempt to are seen throughout the valleys. 1800s, the Don teemed with Atlantic that this valley has been designated as reduce erosion of the bank. You will see However, Garlic Mustard grows very Salmon, but these were completely one of three Toronto flyway corridors other types of bank stabilization during quickly, especially in disturbed areas, depleted by anglers. In 1997, Chinook planted specifically to feed both the walk. and shades out slower growing native Salmon, a Pacific variety, was resident and migrating birds. Two plants. Clumps produce over 62,000 introduced to the Lower Don River near hundred kinds of birds pass through You are surrounded by invasive seeds per square metre. Attempts to Pottery Road and more recently to the 6 the Don Watershed each year, and 83 plants, species that are not eradicate this plant by hand-pulling has East Don River at Donalda Golf Course stay to breed. Birds migrate along green native to this area but have arrived limited success for the cut or pulled just the other side of Lawrence. Each corridors. through various means and now flowers can still form viable seed if left fall, usually in October, large Chinook reproduce so aggressively that they on the ground. All vegetation matter fight their way up past this stretch, Look out over the river. It was 5 displace native species. Non-native must be bagged, removed from the site traveling north of Highway 7 up into not always here. Back 20,000 or alien species came from other and disposed of properly. Vaughan. TRCA built rocky ramps to years ago, solid ice covered Ontario countries, possibly centuries ago. replace weirs that acted as barriers. to depths of one to two kilometres. The invasive grass is that tall erect While salmon head north to breed Because ice is of a plastic nature, it Buckthorn is a very fast growing bush plant you saw near the first pond. This then die, their trip is in vain because silt moves and pushes out at the bottom, adaptable to any condition. These is Phragmites or Giant Reed. It grows contained in large amounts of runoff scours the tops off mountains and shrubs are easily identified by long quickly in wetlands, spreading through smothers the eggs and kills them. hills, creates deep valleys and moves thorns or spikes along the branches. Its underground runners and seeds. Here in Brown Trout are also stocked in the Don boulders large distances. roots may exude a chemical effect that Milne Hollow, attempts at control focus and can be seen traveling upstream in discourages other species from growing mainly on cutting the seed heads and the spring. Climate change is a major challenge and because its seeds have a laxative removing them from the site. to our river system. Warmer water effect on birds, the seeds are dropped There were no “good old days” for negatively affects aquatic creatures and far, wide and frequently. Control and elimination of invasive fish once the Europeans arrived. Clear plants. Altered weather now produces species is difficult and long-term. cutting of land caused rises in water more intense, local storms than we Dog-strangling Vine, or Pale Spraying with herbicides is now tightly temperatures, sawmills blanketed have seen in the past. We know Milne Swallowwort, is possibly the worst controlled, access to the infested areas the river with sawdust and homes, Hollow was flooded out during a major plague to affect our valleys. Most of is often difficult, natural disease and and industry discharged human storm 1878 and again with Hurricane what you see here on the ground and predators are usually non-existent waste and other chemicals direct into Hazel in 1954. We have had several twining upward onto shrubs and trees is and hand pulling, digging or cutting is the river. Today, only 21 pollutant- other major storms since, but with less that culprit. It has no enemies, tolerates time-consuming often ineffective. Each tolerant varieties actually breed in the publicity because they were localized. sun and dense shade and produces plant shades the ground beneath it, Watershed, down from the 42 that The East Don suffered heavily in 30,000 seeds per square metre. Seeds discouraging the growth of many native were once here. After a storm, road each have a fluffy attachment that species. 3 4 surfaces contribute debris, oil, grease, particulates and gases to pollute our air. > Exit This access road from the parking Remember, much of what you see bacteria, salt and cigarette butts and lot rises sharply to Don Mills Road via behind you was not here a decade ago.