From Brown to Green? The Planning and Implementation of the Don Valley Brick Works’ Restoration By Anna Côté July 26th, 2013 A Major Paper submitted to the Faculty of Environmental Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Student Signature:____________________ Supervisor Signature: ____________________ Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................4 FOREWORD..............................................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................8 CHAPTER 2: THE CASE FOR BROWNFIELD-TO-GREENSPACE PROJECTS ......................... 11 CHAPTER 3: SITE SELECTION, METHODOLOGY, & CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION .......... 19 3.1 CHOICE OF SITE ............................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................... 20 3.2.1 Literature review....................................................................................................................................20 3.2.2 Policy and Planning Document Review.........................................................................................20 3.2.3 Site Visits ....................................................................................................................................................21 3.2.4 On-Site Interviews ..................................................................................................................................21 3.3 EVALUATION .................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Political Ecology......................................................................................................................................23 3.3.2. Higgs’ Ecological Restoration ..........................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 4: SITE HISTORY AND CURRENT SITE DESCRIPTION.......................................... 30 4.1 LOCATION AND PRE-QUARRY ERA .............................................................................................................. 30 4.2 BRICK-MAKING YEARS .................................................................................................................................. 32 4.3 CURRENT SITE DESCRIPTION & OWNERSHIP............................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER 5: QUARRY RESTORATION TIMELINE ...................................................................... 37 5.1 FAILED ATTEMPT AT PURCHASE OF LAND................................................................................................. 38 5.2 EXPROPRIATION & BEYOND ......................................................................................................................... 39 5.3 NOT A TRADITIONAL BROWNFIELD? .......................................................................................................... 41 5.4 RESTORATION WORK..................................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS 1 – POLITICAL FORCES................................................. 49 6.1 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT .......................................................................................... 49 6.1.1 Bring Back the Don Movement.........................................................................................................50 6.1.2 Friends of the Valley..............................................................................................................................51 6.1.3 But Where Are the Others?.................................................................................................................55 6.2 MONEY MATTERS ........................................................................................................................................... 58 6.2.1 Expropriation Costs ...............................................................................................................................58 6.2.2 Working Budget for Restoration & Maintenance.....................................................................59 6.3 AMALGAMATION ............................................................................................................................................. 61 CHAPTER 7: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS 2 – ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ............................... 63 7.1 GENERAL CONTEXT: PREVAILING MINDSETS INFLUENCING THE RESTORATION............................... 63 7.2 SPECIFIC APPROACHES USED IN THE RESTORATION ............................................................................... 64 7.2.1 Ecological Succession............................................................................................................................64 7.2.2 Native Species...........................................................................................................................................66 7.2.3 Combination of Habitats .....................................................................................................................68 7.2.4 Focus on Water Systems ......................................................................................................................69 7.3 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................... 72 7.3.1 Ecological Integrity ...............................................................................................................................72 7.3.2 Historical Fidelity ...................................................................................................................................74 7.3.3 Focal Practice...........................................................................................................................................76 2 7.3.4 Wild Design ...............................................................................................................................................78 7.3.5 Overall Evaluation of Ecological Restoration ............................................................................80 CHAPTER 8: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS 3 – HUMAN-NATURE INTERACTION........................ 82 8.1 GUIDING VISIONS BEHIND HUMAN-NATURE INTERACTION .................................................................. 82 8.1.1 Built to Demonstrate.............................................................................................................................83 8.1.2 “Managed Forever”................................................................................................................................84 8.2 TYPES OF INTENDED INTERACTION ON SITE ............................................................................................. 87 8.3 TYPES OF ACTUAL INTERACTION ON SITE ................................................................................................. 88 8.3.1 Negative Effects.......................................................................................................................................89 8.3.2 Positive Effects .........................................................................................................................................92 8.4 DESTROYING THAT WHICH WE SEEK ........................................................................................................ 93 CHAPTER 9: TRANSFERABLE LESSONS........................................................................................ 96 9.1 POLITICAL FACTORS & ACTORS ................................................................................................................... 96 9.2 ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................................................................... 99 9.3 HUMAN-NATURE BALANCE ........................................................................................................................100 CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION............................................................................................................103 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................106 APPENDIX A – LIST OF INTERVIEW SUBJECTS ........................................................................110 3 Acknowledgements A heartfelt thank you to my friends, family, and peers in supporting me through the realization of this paper and my MES degree. A special thank you to Dr. Jennifer Foster, my academic supervisor, who shared a passion for this site and this topic. She motivated me to ask questions I had not considered, to incorporate critical concepts I had not previously explored, and helped me connect with people central to my research. I am also very grateful to the eight interviewees who participated in my research. Their obvious enthusiasm