Torontoist » conservation

Remembering Hazel on the Humber

On the anniversary of Hurricane Hazel, a walk along the Humber highlighted the storm's lingering effects.

To those living along the Humber River, the heavy rainfall predicted for October 15, 1954, wasn’t cause for alarm. It had been a rainy month, so what difference would another storm make? But Hurricane Hazel‘s impact was anything but normal. As the storm dumped more than seven inches of rain on Metropolitan Toronto, the Humber [...]

Could University of Toronto Bring Better Toilets To Billions?

University of Toronto is working on building a better toilet. It could benefit billions.

For 2.6 billion people, a better toilet would mean a better life, with fewer water-borne diseases like dysentery and cholera, which affect millions annually. To combat this problem, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has divided $3 million (US) among eight institutions around the world, to be spent on rethinking the toilet for the developing [...]

Jane Goodall Reflects on Fifty Years of Chimpanzee Study

There’s something rather terrifying about meeting a childhood icon. On the one hand is the thrill of finally coming close to someone so treasured; on the other, there’s the utter fear that they will disappoint. We met Jane Goodall on Friday night, and we’re very happy to say that she was every bit as impressive [...]

Gardiner Party

Rendering of the Green Ribbon showing new life both above and below the Gardiner Expressway. Image courtesy of Quadrangle Architects Limited. Just weeks after City Hall’s executive committee approved yet another lengthy analysis of the future of the Gardiner Expressway, a notable design firm has introduced a fresh concept into the twenty-plus-year-old debate. At last [...]

Get to Know Your Don Watershed

Photo by Jamie Bradburn/Torontoist. For several years, those hiking or riding through Rouge Park have noticed wavy road signs marking out the park’s waterways. What once might have been treated as just another scenic stream is now easily identified as an aquatic artery like Little Rouge Creek or Little Rouge River. The idea seems to [...]

Forest Saved, Ferry Doomed, Gardiner On The Fence

Dalton McGuinty has agreed to prevent any kind of commercial or industrial activity in 225,000 square kilometres of boreal forest in Northern Ontario. The plan mimics strategies that successive provincial governments have executed successfully in Toronto. Ontario-based Internet pornographers Slickcash have agreed to pay Facebook half a million bucks after allegedly trying to hack into [...]