Ontario’s Greenbelt is the largest in the world. It also protects spectacular and ecologically sensitive areas – including many old-growth forests. Michael Henry is working on a guide to the old-growth forests of the Greenbelt, due out in the fall of 2024. Some highlights include:
- the oldest tree in Ontario
- rare oak savannas, including one in the city of Toronto
- urban old-growth forests accessible by TTC, bicycle or foot
- world-class hiking trails including the Bruce Trail and Oak Ridges Moraine Trail
- trees that were used for cover from musket fire during the war of 1812
- trees that lined the original Toronto carrying place trail
- 240-year-old hemlocks on the steep ravine slopes of Bronte Creek
- retracing the steps of famous naturalists Charles Sauriol and E.T. Seton
- rare old-growth butternut trees
The Greenbelt protects old-growth forests from a myriad of impacts caused by fragmentation and urbanization, and old-growth forests also enhance the value of the Greenbelt in important ways:
- Old-growth forests function as core natural areas, protecting high levels of biodiversity and functioning as genetic diversity reservoirs that enhance the resilience and ecological integrity of surrounding areas.
- Access to greenspace has significant benefits for human health including reduced mortality, increased physical activity, and greater happiness. There is evidence that high quality natural areas, such as old-growth forests, may have greater impact than less biodiverse areas.
- Forests create cool islands in urban environments, reducing local air temperatures by two to eight degrees Celsius.
- Old-growth forests help mitigate climate change by absorbing and sequestering carbon at higher rates than younger forests. The old growth forests in Ontario’s Greenbelt contribute to its role as a carbon sink.
The removal of the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve from the Greenbelt is a threat to Rouge Park, the Seaton Trail, and some of the cleanest creeks in the GTA. Several old-growth forests are adjacent to land that is now slated for development.
