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About the Book
• Shortlisted, 2000 Toronto Book Award
High Park, Scarborough Bluffs, the Humber Valley, the Port Lands. These are among the special places of Toronto. Each is a unique ecosystem within the busy urban region. Even though Torontonians think of the city as almost entirely built up, savannah or wetlands are only a subway ride away. Special Places explores the changing ecosystems of the Toronto area over this century, looking at the environmental conditions that influence the whole region and at the surprising range of plants and animals you can still find in many of its natural spaces.
Special Places explores the changing ecosystems of the Toronto area over this century, looking at the environmental conditions that influence the whole region and at the surprising range of plants and animals you can still find in many of its natural spaces.
In Special Places, a group of science professionals show how actions in one location produce ripples in every direction. Changes in forest cover, for example, affect not only the organisms that live in the forest but also those that use it from time to time, such as migrating birds and those that live in watersheds fed by water husbanded by forest cover. Changes in bird populations cause changes in the populations of insects on which they feed; changes in insect populations affect the plants on which they feed; and so on.
As a new millennium arrives, it is time to take stock of our effect on the world around us and to consider the consequences. Special Places assesses how we can minimize the impact of human activity on the environment and even remedy some of the harm we have already done. One way is to bridge the gap between scientists and decision makers by making the natural sciences more accessible to everyone.
Special Places was written at the initiative of the Royal Canadian Institute, which is the oldest active scientific society in Canada and is dedicated to bringing the natural sciences to the public. Richly illustrated and written for a general audience, this book celebrates the glory and fragility of these interlocking ecosystems and helps us appreciate the uniqueness of the "special places."
About the Author(s)
Betty Roots and Donald Chant are both Emeritus Professors, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto. Betty Roots was also Director, Life Sciences Division of the Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada.
Conrad Heidenreich teaches in the Department of Geography at York University.
Table of Contents
Foreword / Dr. Roberta L. Bondar
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: The Broad Physical Basis
1. Physical Setting: A Story of Changing Environments through Time
2. Climate
3. Watersheds
Part 2: From Wilderness to City
4. Native Settlement to 1847
5. Spatial Growth
Part 3: The Past and Present Natural Environment
6. Ecology, Ecosystems, and the Greater Toronto Region
7. Vascular Plants
8. Mosses, Liverworts, Hornworts, and Lichens
9. Fungi
10. Invertebrates
11. Insects
12. Fish
13. Reptiles and Amphibians
14. Mammals
15. Birds
Part 4: The Special Places
16. From Acquisition to Restoration: A History of Protecting Toronto's Natural Places
17. Special Places
Waterfront Ecosystems: Restoring Is Remembering
Toronto's Port Lands: The Significance of the Ordinary
Scarborough Bluffs
The Savannahs of High Park
Oak Ridges Moraine
Credit River
Humber Valley
Don Valley
Duffins Creek
Rouge Valley
18. Discussion and Conclusions
The History of the Royal Canadian Institute
Afterword / David Crombie
References and Additional Reading
Contributors' Acknowledgments
Reviews
The Royal Canadian Institute's Special Places: The Changing Ecosystems of the Toronto Region unlocks the doors of Toronto's many secret gardens. …Special Places is far more than a benign statement of scientific facts about the Toronto region. It successfully presents both a tool and a challenge for local policy makers and land developers to incorporate into the future development of Toronto.
-- Nature Canada
… ideal for anyone in the Greater Toronto Area with an interest in the local environment. … timely … easy to read.
-- Barry Kent MacKay, Toronto Star
This visually and intellectually attractive volume presents an exquisitely designed natural history of Toronto’s metropolitan area. Elements of the dynamic urban ecosystem are woven together, including vital human and natural environmental components, creating an enlightening depiction of the value of the region’s natural places… A valuable book for academic audiences.
-- M. Evans, SUNY Empire State College, Choice
It is a pleasure to witness how well editor-in-chief Betty I. Roots and the editors Donald A. Chant and Conrad E. Heidenreich have succeeded in bringing together not only a team of highly qualified specialists, but one that shares essential scientific and convictions.
I very much enjoyed reading and learning from this fine book. It has a reader-friendly layout and is clearly written.
As one would expect of a volume commemorating such a venerable scientific institution as the Royal Canadian Institute – a brief history by Conrad E. Heidenreich appears at the end of the book – this is a thoroughly professional and beautiful publication. That it contains a wealth of maps, charts, photos, and helpful drawings is not surprising, but that text and images are united and enhanced by a very attractive book design deserves special mention. Obviously the editorial team and the contributors had the full commitment and professional support of the UBC Press.
Special Places endears itself further to the reader by ending not only with a sober assessment of the precariousness of the “Evolving Urban Ecology,” but also with some cautiously optimistic conclusions of we continue to care about our “Special Places.
-- Lothar Honnighausen, Canadian Literature 184, Spring 2005
Sample Chapter
A sample chapter of this title is not available at this time. For further information, please email info@ubcpress.ubc.ca.
Related Topics
Urban Studies
Natural History > Botany
Natural History
Other Ways To Order
In Canada, order your copy of Special Places from UTP Distribution at:
UTP Distribution
5201 Dufferin Street
Toronto, Ontario
M3H 5T8
Phone orders: 1(800)565-9523 or (416)667-7791
Fax orders: 1(800)221-9985 or (416)667-7832
Email: utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca
Ordering information for customers outside Canada
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