Don Valley Brick Works Park is one of the City's most valued natural environment parks. The remarkable transformation of this former quarry site into a recreation amenity and nature sanctuary highlights good planning and partnerships between multiple stakeholders.
Located in the Lower Don River Valley, Don Valley Brick Works is an internationally significant natural and cultural heritage site located within the Don River watershed. The 16.5 (40.7 acres) site is open for public use.
From 1889 to 1989, Don Valley Brick Works was a thriving brick-making and distribution industry in the heart of Toronto. Today, Don Valley Brick Works Park is a flagship restoration site that provides crucial natural habitat for variety of plants and animals. The Don Valley Brick Works is a vibrant site, which includes both the Evergreen Brick Works on the site of an industrial building pad, and Don Valley Brick Works Park, a City of Toronto natural area park consisting of the Weston Family Quarry Garden, Governor's Lookout and accessible trails linked with the Beltline and Lower Don trails.
Restoration of Don Valley Brick Works Park began in 1995 under the City of Toronto and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The Natural Environment and Community Programs Unit of Urban Forestry, City of Toronto, took the lead on restoration efforts and continues to coordinate management of the park. Today, this former quarry has wetland, wildflower meadows, and forest habitats, which have all been introduced into different areas of the site in order to create a variety of habitats for plants and animals.
An important fact! The majority of the plant material on the site has been installed through dedicated volunteer efforts and strong partnerships with a variety of groups and keen individuals. See the volunteer opportunities section below for more details!
Members of the public can volunteer to join the Don Valley Brick Works Team of the Community Stewardship Program or the Don Valley Brick Works Park Ambassador Program
The Community Stewardship Program involves volunteers in ongoing maintenance and monitoring activities at naturalization sites throughout the City. Participants work in a team that is guided by an experienced volunteer (team leader). Each team visits their site for 2 hours weekly from May until September, and can also attend a variety of special events and workshops.
Stewardship activities include weeding invasive non-native plant species, planting and maintaining native vegetation, mulching, collecting litter, building habitat brush bundles, and monitoring specific site conditions. Monitoring activities can include water chemistry, birds, vegetation and aquatic invertebrates. All training is provided and all levels of experience are welcome!
The buildings on site represent several different time periods in the history of the Brick Works. They are currently leased to Evergreen, a national not-for-profit environmental organization who revitalized the industrial heritage buildings into a community environmental centre meant to inspire and equip visitors to live, work and play more sustainably. These buildings are also a showcase for green design and urban sustainability.
Evergreen Brick Works is both a stage and incubator for Evergreen's programs.
The industrial pad portion of the site, which has the industrial buildings on it, is being leased to the Evergreen Environmental Foundation. The balance of the property behind the industrial pad, including the Weston Quarry Garden, is managed by the City's Parks, Forestry and Recreation division.
A new cultural centre provides environmental education, a range of food options, ceramic art classes, summer camps, horticultural therapy programs, and youth-at-risk employment opportunities.
Open for free public skating seven days a week, the rink is also home to Evergreen's "Learn to Skate" lessons and winter community celebrations. If you are looking to rent the Ice Skating Rink for your next special event, please contact Evergreen directly for rental information and packages.
The Don River Valley Park Art Program is produced by Evergreen in collaboration with the City of Toronto and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The current program includes an installation of gargoyles by artist Duane Linklater, entitled "Monsters for Beauty, Permanence and Individuality, 2017." The cast concrete gargoyles are replicas of gargoyles adorning prominent buildings in downtown Toronto. They speak to the Lower Don's role in the industrialization and building of modern Toronto while sparking a larger conversation regarding the ongoing Indigenous and colonial occupation of the city. The exhibit is free and open for an extended period of time. Location: on the Lower Don Trail just north of the Prince Edward Viaduct (Bloor Street Viaduct).
Related information: