Excuseme! Ottawa, Ontario at odds over Rouge Park

Jim Robb, walking through Toronto’s Rouge Park in November, says the park tours that he – as manager of Friends of the Rouge Watershed – leads school children on may be the only exposure to real nature they have all year.

Dave Pearce stands atop a steeply eroding slope in farthest-east Toronto. Dozens of metres below, the Rouge River sweeps west through the sedimentary hills before continuing south to Lake Ontario.

The forest conservationist with the Wildlands League takes in the scene of water, rocks, trees and unobstructed sky. It’s a view not normally enjoyed in a city. He sees the deep slice of green as an invaluable part of a growing region.

“Our urban and new Canadians are increasingly separated from the natural world,” he says. “This valley is easy and affordable to get to. It can be further restored and protected to be an entry point to show people what nature can be in Canada.”

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