Place in Movement: Tracing Human-Altered Landscapes Along the Niagara Escarpment

Abstract

The Niagara Escarpment, a 440-million-year-old landform, cuts through a property owned by the University of Toronto in Caledon, Ontario in Canada. The property juxtaposes impacts from historical quarrying activity which burrowed directly into the Escarpment’s slope, the greater context of the region’s urban development demands, and the Escarpment’s identity as an ancient geological formation, ecological refugium, and old-growth forest housing ancient species such as Thuja occidentalis.

This project explores the university’s responsibility in advocating for the protection of the Escarpment’s unique ecologic conditions, including the distinct cliff ecosystems and the novel successional plant communities evolving on sites of former quarry activities. Interventions on the trail system, cave bridges and lookouts, and the boardwalk and path system, along with guidance of signage and trail markers, will bring visitors to areas where former quarry activities sculptured the Escarpment’s limestone faces and are now reclaimed by a system of lush novel wetlands and habitats in evolutionary stages. Connecting to a system of existing public trails, this project leverages the university’s educational and recreational objectives to form new strategic partnerships with local conservancy groups, aiming at monitoring and managing access and habitat protection.

● Indigenous-led conservation efforts and partnerships with local conservancy groups are emphasized to enhance sustainability and stewardship

● Interventions were proposed on the trail system, cave bridges and lookouts, and the boardwalk and path system

● The interventions aim to balance the site’s educational and recreational use with the preservation of its delicate ecosystems

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Niagara Escarpment / Industrial Heritage / Abandoned Quarry / Ecological Habitat / Geology / Wetland / Trail System

References

[1] Larson, D. W. , Matthes, U. , & Kelly, P. E. (1999) Cliffs as natural refuges: Rocky precipices around the world provide a surprisingly sheltered environment for plants and animals. American Scientist, 87 ( 5), 410– 417.

[2] Gunn, M.-W. (2023). Saving Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment: The quarries, the politics, and the myth of the Dufferin Gap, 1950-1970[Doctoral dissertation]. McMaster University.

[3] Caledon Heritage. (1877). Illustrated historical atlas of the country of Peel.

[4] Peel Region. (n.d.). Peel 2051 Official Plan.

[5] Timms, L. (2023, September 20). Credit Valley Conservation, personal communication during site visit.

[6] Milman, D. (2023, September 24). Hart House, personal communication during site visit.

[7] Brylowski, A. (2023, September 20). Bruce Trail Conservancy, personal communication during site visit.

[8] Bruce Trail Conservancy. (2024). About us.

[9] Puric-Mladenovic, D. (2023). Mid-review commentary on the importance of Niagara Escarpment’s alvar ecology.

[10] Warn, S. (2023). Hart House Farm walking tour[Site visit]. Caledon, Ontario.

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