Bringing Back The Don River
The resources listed in this guide have been compiled by the Urban Affairs Library, a division of the Toronto Reference Library. Complementary materials may also be found at the North York Central Library and local branches of the Toronto Public Library.
Introduction
"Somewhere along the line, as the pace of life quickened and the demands of transportation and industry increased, Toronto forgot that the Don was a river."The Don River Watershed is one of the great natural resources of the Metro Toronto Region. Its valleylands form a ribbon of greenspace in the heart of the city and provide a habitat for vegetation and wildlife. Unfortunately, two centuries of urbanization have left their mark on the watershed. Lands adjacent to the river have been developed for industrial and residential use, pollutants have adversely affected the river's water quality and the construction of the Don Valley Parkway has turned the Lower Don into a transportation corridor. A recent study for the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority succinctly described the Don as "an ecosystem that has been degraded by urban development and activity".
But all is not lost for the Don, as the waterway has many friends who can envisage a brighter future for it. Today, groups such as the Task Force to Bring Back the Don are devising plans which would revitalize the Don and reintroduce the natural beauty of the river system to a generation of Torontonians. Their success or failure will of be interest to all those who are seeking the answers to questions such as: How do we go about regenerating damaged ecosystems? How can we incorporate environmental considerations into the planning process? Can we keep our cities green? This guide will highlight some of the many resources on the Don which are available in the Urban Affairs Library's collection.
History
The Don is one of more than sixty rivers and streams that flow south from the Oak Ridges Moraine, a porous, water-filled ridge of glacial debris. It is estimated that the Don was 'born' over 13,000 years ago and that native peoples such as the Mississauga Indians gradually established seasonal encampments on the Don centred around activities such as hunting, fishing, food gathering and trading. French traders mapped the area as early as 1688, but major colonization did not take place until after the Toronto Purchase of 1787.
Early Development:
When Governor and Lady Simcoe arrived in what is now Toronto in the 1790's, the Don was still relatively untouched by man. The Valley was covered with mixed forests, which provided a home for animals such as deer and wolves, and the river teemed with fish and waterfowl. However, the river and its valley were increasingly viewed by settlers as either resources to be exploited or obstacles to be overcome. In the early 1800's, forest land began to be cleared both for farms and for the mills that were powered by the river.
20th Century:
By the turn of the century, the river south of Gerrard had been straightened to facilitate industrial and railway development and the Don Valley Brickworks was in operation. In the early 1900's, the marshes at the mouth of the Don were filled in for sanitary reasons and to facilitate port development. The 20th century has seen continued residential and industrial encroachment on watershed lands and ongoing construction of bridges, railways and sewers. The completion of the Don Valley Parkway in the 1950's reinforced the view of the Don as an industrial and transportation corridor.
General Histories:
Because the river is intertwined with so many prominent individuals, events and buildings in the city's history, there are many sources of information on the history of the Don. General historical works such as Toronto of Old by Henry Scadding and Toronto The Way It Was by Michael Kluckner make frequent mention of the Don, as do books about neighbourhoods near to the river, such as Cabbagetown Remembered by George Rust-D'eye.
Histories of the Don:
Charles Sauriol, a longtime champion of the Don, has compiled two books which weave together recollections and reminiscences of those who lived, worked and played on the Don: Remembering the Don, which reproduces articles from The Cardinal, the newsletter of the Don Valley Conservation Association; and Tales of the Don, which focusses on stories from the first half of the twentieth century. Ann Guthrie's Don Valley Legacy: A Pioneer History tells the story of the Don through its relation to the Taylor family, which was involved in many aspects of the economic development of the region.
Both the Don Valley Conservation Report, prepared by the Ontario Department of Planning and Development in 1950, and the Task Force report Bringing Back the Don provide extensive and detailed histories of the Don's early development. Both also help to place historical developments in an environmental context.
Environment And Planning
The Don River Watershed is located within Canada's most highly urbanized metropolitan region. Residential, commercial and industrial uses, including manmade alterations to the river's course, have had a significant environmental impact on the Don's vegetation, wildlife and water quality. Both Bringing Back The Don and the Don Valley Conservation Report, mentioned above, provide excellent overviews of many aspects of the Don's development.
Ecology and Natural Features:
Don River Watershed: State of the Ecosystem , prepared in 1992 by Paragon Engineering Limited and Ecologistics Limited for the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, provides a detailed contemporary analysis of the quality of the environment within the Watershed. Earlier studies by the Conservation Authority, such as the 1982 Environmentally Significant Areas Study and the 1980 Watershed Plan are also excellent sources of information on the Don's natural features.Another source of descriptive information on plants and animals native to the Don are the publications of the Toronto Field Naturalists, such as Toronto the Green, A Metro Toronto Natural Resources Inventory: A Case Study in East York and West Don River Valley 1974-1978. Metro Toronto's Parks and Property Department presently oversees several parks along the Don and the Department's 1991 Park Fact Sheets is a useful source of information on parks such as Todmorden Mills, Taylor Creek, Serena Gundy and Sunnybrook.
Water Quality:
The river's water quality is the subject of Strategy for Improvement of Don River Quality, a 1989 report by Paul Theil Associates Limited and Beak Consultants Limited . Other studies on pollution in Metro Toronto's rivers and waterfront, such as Strategies for Restoring Our Waters: The Metro Toronto and Region Remedial Action Plan, help to place the Don's environmental problems in a broader context.
Land Use Planning:
Land use planning in areas adjacent to the Don Watershed is shared by several different regional and local governments. The official plans of municipalities such as Toronto, East York and North York ( including relevant neighbourhood or secondary plans ), can be useful sources of information on land use policies and patterns in areas touching on the Don.Today, as an ecosystem approach to planning becomes increasingly accepted, many cities are attempting to incorporate environmental principles into new or revised planning studies. Metropolitan Toronto's September 1992 draft official plan The Liveable Metropolis, sets forth general principles regarding the conservation of Metropolitan Toronto's natural resources and the establishment of an integrated Green Space System which would include the Don Watershed. The December 1991 Metropolitan Waterfront Plan: Planning Directions for the Metropolitan Waterfront also deals with issues of environmental sustainability, as does the City of Toronto's Environmental Backgrounder, Report No. 9 in the Cityplan '91 series.
Studies of Specific Developments and Sites:
Studies are also available on specific transportation, engineering and industrial developments which have had a direct impact on the Don River Valley. Reports such as Don Valley Brickworks: Master Planning Study, Keating Channel Environmental Assessment: Main Report, Don Valley Corridor Transportation Study all provide information on a particular aspect of the Don's development and land use characteristics.
A Vison For The Future
Planning for the longterm health of the Don is a task which will involve many different agencies, groups and individuals. At present, there are two governmental task forces which are specifically devoted to the restoration of the Don: the City of Toronto's Task Force to Bring Back the Don; and the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's Don Watershed Task Force. The Provincial Government has also established the Waterfront Regeneration Trust as an ongoing agency to deal with the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront.
The Task Force to Bring Back the Don:
The mandate of the Task Force to Bring Back the Don is to "undertake initiatives that will contribute to the ultimate restoration of the entire watershed by focusing on rehabilitation efforts within the jurisdiction of the City of Toronto". The Task Force's 1991 report, Bringing Back the Don, created a surge of public interest in and awareness of the Don. The report outlines a restoration strategy which has six objectives for the Lower Don: enhancement of the river mouth; creation of aquatic habitats ( i.e., wetlands ); restoration of terrestrial habitats; appropriate uses of the valley; improving access to the valley; and coordinating planning policy for the valley.
The Don Watershed Task Force:
The Don Watershed Task Force's purpose is to develop whole watershed or ecosystem strategies for the entire river system. The Don Watershed Task Force is currently involved in preparing a Don Watershed Strategy and its activities can be followed in the monthly newsletter On the Don, published by the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.The Waterfront Regeneration Trust and the Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront:
The 'ecosystem approach to the regeneration of cities' was also a guiding principle of the Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront, chaired by David Crombie, which began work in 1988. The Commission's 1992 Final Report Regeneration: Toronto's Waterfront and the Sustainable City makes many recommendations for the revitalization of watersheds across the entire Metro Toronto bioregion and includes an analysis of the problems and opportunities of the Don as a 'typical' watershed. The many background studies of the commission, such as Pathways: Towards an Ecosystem Approach, and Watershed, the 1990 Interim Report, are also helpful in understanding the Commission's philosophy and approach.
In 1992, the Ontario Legislature established the Waterfront Regeneration Trust as an agency of the provincial government. The Trust's purpose is to build on the work of the Royal Commission and see that its recommendations are implemented. A good summary of the agency's objectives is provided in the October 1992 issue of the Newsletter of the Canadian Waterfront Resource Centre.
Other Reources Within The Urban Affairs Library
The Library Catalogue:
This guide lists only some of the material on the Don in the library's collection. Users requiring further information should search the Toronto Reference Library's online catalogue.Some useful subject headings for material specifically on the Don include:
- Don River
- Don River Valley
- Don River Watershed
- Don ( Toronto, Ont. )
- Don Valley Brickworks
- Don Valley Park
- Don Valley Parkway
- Keating Channel
- Todmorden Mills
More general materials on planning for urban ecosystems can be found under headings such as:
- City Planning -- Environmental Aspects
- Conservation of Natural Resources
- Environmental Impact Analysis
- Greenbelts
- Urban Ecology
- Urban Ecology ( Biology )
- Water -- Pollution
- Water Quality Management
- Waterfronts
- Watershed Management
- Watersheds
- Wetland Conservation
- Wetlands
These headings can all be subdivided by geographic areas, e.g., Canada, Ontario, Toronto Region, Toronto Metropolitan Area, etc.
Periodical Articles:
Periodical articles can be identified by searching the Voyageur database under the 'Articles in Periodical, Newspaper and Other Publications' which includes references to articles in major Canadian journals and newspapers.Newspaper and Pamphlet Files:
The Urban Affairs Library maintains newspaper clipping and pamphlet files under the 'Don River' heading, as well as under other topics such as 'Environmental Planning', 'Harbours - Metro Toronto', 'Don Planning Area', 'Pollution - Water'.