Concrete and Clay





I'm presenting this exhibit of photographs in May 2016 as part of the 20th Anniversary Contact Photography Festival. The work will be on exhibit at Art Works Art Gallery at 238 Jane Street from Thursday May 12 to Saturday June 11, 2016. Opening Reception is Thursday May 12 from 6-8 pm - all are welcome. 

 The photographs I'm exhibiting are a documentation drawing attention to the irreversible practice of shoreline hardening. Under the pretence of erosion protection; revetments, armour rocks and paved roads are taking over our natural shorelines. In an attempt to alter the malleable, shifting and changing clay shores of the Scarborough Bluffs, developers are not only destroying an ecosystem and animal habitat but they are severing our connection to the lake. 

 The shoreline at risk begins near Grey Abbey Ravine and continues east along the shore for about 4 km to East Point Park and Bird Sanctuary. In addition to this area being an important flyway for migratory birds, it has been recognized as an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) and an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).

 The good news is there's still time to preserve this last natural shoreline of Toronto. The TRCA (Toronto and Region Conservation Authority) is interested in hearing from the public about this area. The plans that are currently being proposed present a number of options and alternatives and in addition to hardening the shoreline in varying degrees, one of their options include the 'Do Nothing Alternative'. This would be the best option for preserving the area in it's natural state. Allowing this shoreline to remain natural will help maintain the natural habitat for many years to come. This area is a treasure of flora and fauna and the shore is a beautiful stretch of sand beach that deserves our protection. 

In addition to seeing the photographs on display, I invite you to contact the TRCA and let them know how you feel about shoreline hardening and if this is how you envision the future of our shores. 

 Email: Lindsay Clapp (project coordinator) waterfront@trca.on.ca

For those of you not familiar with the TRCA, I've included some info from their website about when they formed and their mandate: 

About TRCA

Formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel, TRCA has a strong history in watershed management and leadership in applying sustainability practices.  Today, we own more than 40,000 acres of land in the Toronto region, employ more than 475 full time employees and coordinate more than 3,000 volunteers each year. 
With decades of practical experience in protecting our environment, educating young people, and engaging communities, TRCA works with governments, businesses, and individuals to build a greener, cleaner healthier place to live.

Our Vision

The quality of life on Earth is being determined in the rapidly expanding city regions.  Our vision is for a new kind of community, The Living City, where human settlement can flourish forever as part of nature's beauty and diversity.

Our Mission

To work with our partners to ensure that The Living City is built on a natural foundation of healthy rivers and shorelines, greenspace and biodiversity, and sustainable communities. 

Our Expertise

TRCA offers knowledge and experience to help our partners contribute to a healthy city region.  This includes ecology and the study of water quality, natural habitats, plants, animals and more to help us identify environmental needs, set targets, and restore natural areas; sustainable community development to advise partners about land use, development proposals and construction, and environmental education to help students and community members appreciate their local environment and learn to look after it.

Local Action

"Think globally, act locally" applies well to TRCA and its partners.  While we recognize our participation in the global environment, our work is focused squarely on the environment here in the Toronto region.  We work to protect and restore the health of the nine watersheds that form the Toronto region, and the Lake Ontario waterfront along its southern boundary.

Working Together

Communities across our watersheds are meeting the challenge of protecting and restoring the health of our environment.  TRCA works alongside its municipal partners, other environmental departments and organizations, educational organizations, corporations and grass roots community groups to help them, as well as ourselves, achieve our goals in support of a greener, cleaner, healthier place to live.

Jennifer @ 416-871-5132 jenfalvy@hotmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to the Guildwood Pond

Image
I would like to introduce a province-wide conservation program that I'm participating in. The program is called Adopt-A-Pond and is developed and administered in partnership by Environment Canada's Nature Watch program, the Ontario Government's Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) and the Toronto Zoo Wetland conservation program.  The pond I have adopted is situated along the Scarborough shoreline, beside the Guildwood beach and I've now listed it as the official location for Frog Watch Ontario and Ontario Turtle Tally. It's a small pond, with a rough circumference of 400 ft and at its deepest point may only be 4-5 ft deep. The pond sits near a beach at the base of the bluffs, at the end of a service road. For the purpose of this project, I have (unofficially) named it Guildwood Pond.  I will be visiting the pond at least 3 times a week in the spring to report sightings on a routine schedule and whether there are frog...
Read more

A Walking Tour of Grey Abbey Park

Image
J oin us Sunday February 12th at 2:00pm We will be meeting at Grey Abbey Park: 190 Greyabbey Trail in Scarborough.  Just  east of Morningside Avenue, on Greyabbey Trail. Parking on street. A 3 minute walk from bus stop on Morningside. TTC bus #116a or #116c from Kennedy Station. Travel time 15 minutes from subway. This is our first walk in a  series of walking tours that will take place along the parks and shorelines of  the Scarborough Bluffs.  Walking Tours are a great way to enjoy the outdoors, walk with others and learn more about the natural and cultural history of a place!  Grey Abbey Park in east Scarborough is an exceptional little park situated high upon the bluffs, east of Morningside Avenue and Guildwood Pkway, with an entrance on Greyabbey Trail.  This park is known for offering some of the most remarkable sightlines and this time of year is especially good si...
Read more

The Bank Swallows of East Point

Image
Bank Swallows flying along the bluffs The Bank Swallow; Riparia Riparia  Status in Ontario: Threatened Location: East Point Park and Bird Sanctuary East Scarborough, Toronto Ontario “Threatened ” means the species lives in the wild but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it. A few facts about this delightful song bird: Bank Swallows nest in burrows along vertical faces of silt, sand or clay. Territories may support colonies of 10 to 2,000 nests with burrows 2-3 ft deep Bank Swallows are extremely social birds. They are seldom alone when outside the nest and because of this close proximity, they have developed many complex social behaviours A small songbird, the Bank Swallow is distinguished in flight by its quick, erratic wing beats. They fly shallow typically gliding for 2 seconds at a time An Aerial Insectivore, the Bank Swallow catches and feeds on insects in flight  The cause f...
Read more

Walking through the Guild Woods

Image
Fallen Ash Sunday May 7, 2017 was another successful and well-attended walk led by Steve Smith and Jen Falvy of Friends of the Bluffs with 52 guests attending! What a wonderful way to meet fellow nature enthusiasts from the local community and greater Toronto region.  In addition to our regular community event listing in the Bluffs Monitor we listed our walk in the Jane's Walk network which drew guests from the west end, downtown, and as far as Thornhill, Ontario. We'd like to thank our guests for their understanding in accepting the change of our walking route. Initially we planned to go along the Guild shoreline and talk about the history of the shoreline, and erosion measures with the service road though we received an email from the TRCA on Friday informing us that road access to the lake would be closed for the weekend due to high water levels. Rather than cancel, we chose to redirect our walk through the east segment of the Guild forest, an area that is not visite...
Read more

Preserving A Natural Beach and Shoreline

Image
Grey Abbey Beach, Scarborough Bluffs Shoreline, photo Jen Falvy Friday August 3, 2018 marked an important deadline for the public to submit comment to the Ministry of the Environment on their concerns about the TRCA Scarborough Waterfront Project. What seemed like a random date in the middle of summer when many people are either on vacation or making plans for the long weekend of summer, may have been carefully planned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.  For many, the deadline of August 3 went by unnoticed but for those that have been tirelessly working behind the scenes to preserve this 4 km stretch of natural beach, the date marked a significant turning point and new chapter in our ongoing efforts to preserve the natural heritage of the Scarborough Bluffs Shoreline.  Our comments and concerns have been submitted to Anne Cameron, Project Manager for the Ministry of the Environment. It is our hope that all of the issues we...
Read more