Naturalization Project – Environment Canada

Fall 2013, Environment Canada and representatives of the "Green team" an organization of environmentally conscious employees, approached the Faculty of Environmental Studies to recruit a student to draft a restoration and re-naturalization plan for a portion of its property at 4905 Dufferin Street in Toronto, Ontario. This report is prepared as guiding document describing the process and methods used to draft a naturalization plan on behalf of Environment Canada. The restoration strategy incorporates four main steps a portion of the property by removing turf and re-­‐naturalizing the site with native species. (1) Determining project goals, as well as local and regional context, (2) inventory and site condition evaluation, (3) restoration design and naturalization plan, (4) implementation, management, and monitoring. The design for this project incorporates several objectives: removal of non-­‐native turf, pathway construction between main building and G. Ross Lord Park, including seating. Establish ecological function through native planting and seeding. Demonstrate Environment Canada's commitment to nature through signage and storyboards that communicate ecological design alternatives to turf and species initiatives. To select species for planting, native species common to prairie and oak-­‐savannah ecosystems are considered and characterized with soil components and element exposure of each plot, fulfilling the unique requirements for each plot design within the site plan.