A unique October walk in partnership with Lost Rivers and The Bentway.

Lost Rivers: The Bentway and Garrison Common – Past Present Future – Stories of the Garrison Common and the creeks surrounding Old Fort York.

A few months ago we were approached by The Bentway regarding an upcoming art exhibition they were planning, our discussions led to our president, Ellen Schwartzel, giving the artists Striped Canary and members of The Bentway programming team a guided tour of one of our ravines. Our continued discussions lead to a unique walk taking this month. We are excited to partner with The Bentway and Lost Rivers to present this walk which is linked to the Confluence art exhibit by Striped Canary presented by The Bentway and The Exhibition. This partnership is part of an effort by the Toronto Field Naturalists to increase awareness about us and what we do to a wider range communities in our city.

The walk will take place on October 16th at 2:00 pm and will be led by Helen Mills from Lost Rivers. We will explore the Bentway and Garrison Common – people, water, land, ecosystems, past present and future. Come and discover the former mouth of Garrison Creek, the former shoreline of Lake Ontario, the tiny creeks of the Garrison Common and their lost ecosystems. There will be stories about lost histories – warriors, squatters, gardeners, wolves at the gate of the fort,11,000 year old footprints in the lake, rain gardens and the remarkable changes that are happening at the Bentway and in the neighbourhood! We will end with a visit to “Love Song to the Great Lakes” by artist Olivier Bonnard and a short walk to the Strachan Gate. At the end of the walk, attendees will have the opportunity to attend the Confluence art exhibit. Confluence by artist duo Striped Canary is a new large-scale art exhibit within a hidden chamber under the Gardiner Expressway, inspired by the water systems that have shaped Toronto.

To attend this walk you need to register in advance, this will include a ticket to the Confluence art exhibit. There is no cost for registering. You can register here: https://tfngo.to/lostriversbentway

Find more information on all our member walks in October visit the Members Only area our website. For information on our public walks in October visit our website at https://torontofieldnaturalists.org/walks/

Toronto Field Naturalists wishes to acknowledge this Land through which we walk. For thousands of years, the Land has been shared by the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe. Toronto is situated on the Land within the Toronto Purchase, Treaty 13, the traditional and treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is also part of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum, a covenant agreement between Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Wendat peoples and allied nations to peaceably share the land and all its resources. Today, the Land is home to peoples of numerous nations. We are all grateful to have the opportunity to continue to care for and share the beauty of this Land.