Creating Common Ground TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT I OUR VISION OUR MISSION The quality of life on Earth is being created in rapidly To work with our partners to ensure that The expanding city regions. Our vision is for a new kind of Living City® is built upon a natural foundation community—The Living City®—where human settlement of healthy rivers and shorelines, greenspace and can flourish forever as part of nature’s beauty and diversity. biodiversity, and sustainable communities. II TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR 2 FEATURE STORIES MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER 3 WESTERN GATEWAY: Rebuilt trail reconnects waterfronts in Toronto and Pickering 6 HEALTHY RIVERS AND SHORELINES 4 Watersheds 4 LAKE ONTARIO EVENINGS: Lake Ontario Waterfront 4 New speakers’ series attracts committed audience 7 Etobicoke and Mimico Creeks 6 Humber River 8 PARTNERS IN PROJECT GREEN: Don River 13 Collaboration produces faster results at lower costs 9 Rouge River and Rouge Park 15 ROUGE DAYS 2010: Duffins, Carruthers and Petticoat Creeks 19 The biggest watershed celebration in the GTA 16 Highland Creek 21 Watershed Planning and Management 24 BOB HUNTER MEMORIAL PARK: Source Water Protection 30 TRCA works with Rouge Park and York Region to restore park 17 Stormwater Management 30 SUNNY DAYS FOR CONSERVATION: Flood Management 31 Fundraiser boosts conservation in Western Durham 21 REGIONAL BIODIVERSITY 34 HIGHLAND CREEK GREENING STRATEGY: Conservation Lands 34 Students “dream green” for three neighbourhoods 22 Natural Heritage 38 Habitat Restoration 40 ONTARIO REGIONAL CLIMATE CONSORTIUM: Providing accurate data, analysis and expertise 23 SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 45 Programs of The Living City® 45 ONTARIO REGIONAL ADAPTATION COLLABORATIVE: The Living City® Campus at Kortright 46 Helping communities prepare for climate change 28 Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) 47 CLAIREVILLE CONSERVATION AREA: Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP) 48 Reopening the largest natural greenspace in Brampton 36 Planning and Development 50 Stewardship 54 MONARCH TEACHERS NETWORK: Environmental Education 54 Educators restoring the environment one butterfly at a time 56 Parks and Conservation Areas 60 Cultural Heritage 65 BATHURST GLEN GOLF COURSE: TRCA ‘tees up’ to protect natural resources 60 BUSINESS EXCELLENCE 67 MENTORING TO PLACEMENT, M2P: Information and Technology Services 67 TRCA’s EA staff nurture volunteer program 70 Corporate Social Responsibility 69 Volunteerism and Diversity 69 GRADUATE PRAISES PAIE FOR NEW CAREER 72 Marketing and Communications 73 Recognition Awards 73 Conservation Foundation 74 Member Municipalities and Members 75 Financial Overview 76 2010 BIODIVERSITY 80 TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY JURISDICTION MAP 82 TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT 1 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR The year 2010 was yet again exciting and productive for Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Throughout this report, you will see examples of the partnerships TRCA enjoys with all levels of government, NGO’s, educational groups, businesses, foundations and the general public. TRCA strives to cultivate partnerships in much of its work, a critical component in the successful and beneficial completion of numerous projects in the diverse Toronto region. These projects are of net benefit to the Toronto region, environmentally, socially, economically and culturally – meeting TRCA’s vision “…where human settlement can flourish forever as part of nature’s beauty and diversity.” TRCA provides important education and collaboration opportunities for: businesses in Partners in Project Green; community members with the Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plans; children through day and residential education programs, bringing them to the environment and bringing the environment to them; the overall community with The Living City® Report Card; professionals at The Living City Campus at Kortright; internationally trained professions with the M2P and PAIE programs; to name just a few. These and the many other programs conducted largely in partnership with various stakeholders, represent the guiding ethos of TRCA in ensuring the Toronto region is a greener, cleaner, healthier place for all of nature’s wonders to live in harmony. I am proud to lead this dedicated group of people as they strive to achieve the critical balance between the need for people to work, live and play, while ensuring a sustainable, healthy city region for all to enjoy and prosper in. On behalf of the Authority, I thank our member municipalities and our many other partners for their tremendous support. Gerri Lynn O’Connor 2 TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER The following pages provide highlights of another remarkable year in the history of the TRCA. The common ground for which we search, along with our many partners, is the shared passion, experience and expectations for a more sustainable urban region in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This summary of our accomplishments in 2010 gives hundreds of examples of progress in all aspects of community design, development and engagement. Through the trials and tribulations of the requirement to comply with “Tangible Capital Asset Accounting,” we determined that the assets of TRCA are now valued in excess of half a billion dollars. While that is an impressive number, we know that both the replacement cost of the great variety of assets TRCA has assembled, and the real contribution they provide to the communities we serve, are a great deal higher. One of the particular accomplishments of 2010 was the compilation of The Living City® Report Card, released in January 2011. It was prepared through a partnership with Greening Greater Toronto, an initiative of CivicAction(formerly Toronto City summit Alliance), a coalition of leaders from the business, labour, non-profit sectors and government that was formed to address various challenges facing the GTA. The report card, provides a benchmark for future comparisons of progress and makes a compelling case for action in areas where GTA residents are anxious to see improvements. I acknowledge the tremendous creativity and dedication of the staff team at TRCA. On behalf of all of the staff I want to express my appreciation to Chair O’Connor and the Board for the terrific support and encouragement we receive. Through the financial support provided by our member municipalities, and many other partners, we continue to make valuable contributions to this rapidly growing region. Brian Denney, P. Eng. TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT 3 Port Union Waterfront Park - Phase 2 HEALTHY RIVERS AND Watersheds SHORELINES Lake Ontario Waterfront Port Union Waterfront Park – Phase 2 As part of the Port Union Waterfront Park project, clean fill is being used to create a variety of new recreational and public spaces. Construction of Phase 2 of the Port Union Waterfront Park continued in 2010 and will open to the public in summer 2012. The park features a series of six headlands and cobble beaches, as well as a pedestrian waterfront trail stretching between Chesterton Shores and Rouge Beach Park. In 2010, the Port Union project saw the completion of all headlands and beaches in preparation for the implementation of the landscape plan in 2011/2012. When completed, the Port Union Waterfront Park will include 3.8 kilometres of new waterfront trail stretching between Highland Creek and the Rouge River in Scarborough. These undertakings also serve to: • increase property values for the surrounding community; • promote healthy living by providing trails; • improve habitat for terrestrial and aquatic life; and • increase visibility for TRCA and Waterfront Toronto through public signage. This project is funded by Waterfront Toronto as part of the revitalization of our waterfront. Mimico Waterfront Linear Park – Phase 2 When completed, the Mimico Waterfront Linear Park will stretch along the Lake Ontario waterfront between Humber Bay Park West and Norris Crescent Parkette in the City of Toronto. Phase 1, from Superior Avenue to the Norris Crescent Parkette, was finished in July 2006. In 2010, TRCA continued to secure the properties necessary to undertake Phase 2 of the project. The acquisition strategy is scheduled to be completed in early 2011. Construction will begin in July 2011, and the park is expected to be open to the public in fall 2012. 4 TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT Healthy Rivers and Shorelines Tommy Thompson Park The Master Plan Implementation Project continued in 2010 under a funding agreement with Waterfront Toronto. The Design Review Panel of Waterfront Toronto approved the designs for a staff booth, an environmental shelter and an ecological research station. These will be constructed in 2011. Other activities in 2010 included the preparation of essential wildlife habitat, embayment and peninsula shoreline works, and the installation of trail signs. On May 5, 2010, the Bird Research Station at Tommy Thompson Park captured a warbling vireo which was already banded. After looking it up in the database, it was discovered that this individual was banded on August 8, 2004! It has now been recaptured nine times since it was first banded, every year except 2009. It was banded as