Toronto Shorelines

TURTLE ON THE  BEACH  Its the first day of visiting the pond after registering the program and its one of the coldest and windiest days imaginable. I know its too early in the season to see any frogs but at least I will be able to capture some great shots of waves when down by the lake. What I didn't expect, was to find any wildlife, and especially on such a windy day though there in the sand, and just washed ashore, what do I see but a turtle? This led to a rescue mission with this new found friend in the form of a red-eared slider. I come to learn that he is not a native turtle but a domestic one that someone has released into the wild. He is a resilient little guy to have managed the cold turbulent waves of the lake in winter.  T urtles are a symbol of mother earth, I figure he's a good omen for the Frog Pond. Here's how I found him washed onto the beach after a large wave and I'm pleased to say I have now ad...

GREY ABBEY BEACH JANUARY 2017 In December 2016, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority announced their preferred alternative for the East Segment of the Scarborough Waterfront Project. Unfortunately their decision involves destroying over half the natural shoreline of this segment. They proposed an alternative which places a service road in place of the beach. The artificial structure will be 1.7 km in length and involves lake-filling the area with construction debris,. The structure will be lined with armour rock, altering the side of the geologically significant bluffs as it progresses to the top. This selected alternative will destroy the natural sand beach of this segment, block access to the water, displace local wildlife and degrade the natural beauty of the area. All at the cost of over $60 million to tax paying  citizens.  In an attempt to better understand the TRCA's rationale for this decision, I decided to...

Thank you everyone that joined us for our recent walk on Sunday April 9th! We had a wonderful event with a group of 57 people joining us. Our intent was to walk the full shoreline of East Point but we found that due to the heavy winds of the past month that much of the sand beach had been washed away. This is not an unusual occurrence, especially in an area that is over 3 km in length. The shoreline from East Point to Grey Abbey has been shaped by the elements of wind and water over time and the sand beach that accumulates by the silty clay of the bluffs eroding, is constantly changing.  Walking tours are a great way to share the history and beauty of an area with the public and our East Point walk was wonderful! Please stay in touch and join us for our next walk in May. Details are below. Our group 'Friends of the Bluffs' are leading the walks. We appreciate your support and if you can't attend a walk, please share with your fr...

This update is a re-introduction to the Adopt-A-Pond program I'm participating in, with some images of the lake, the pond and my discovery on the beach.  For those that don't know the area surrounding the Guildwood Pond, it is situated along the shoreline and only a few metres from a sandy, yet rubble-filled beach. It's a great setting for a variety of reasons and if you look past the concrete debris, it truly is beautiful.  Ducks in flight, heading out to the lake Bull rushes in the pond The pond is not that big, but a pond does not have to be large in size to provide value to the natural environment. At its widest it may be about 50 ft and its length is over double that. Small in size but a great home to our local amphibians.  The images here are the mid section, where the pond may be 3-4 ft deep and the outer section, closest to the beach where it is the most shallow end.  The wate...