Normally - or normally in our era of climate change and ever-advancing springs - the first of the trout lilies begins blooming around April 15. Last year according to the date stamps on my photographs, I'd first seen one blooming on April 12. They might have been out at the same time this year, but if they were I couldn't see them under all the stubborn snow.

If you're anywhere near my age--and for the sake of my ego, let's pretend that you are--then you remember back in the old days when you needed to actually go to a library in person and look something up in a book when you wanted to learn about it. This involved something called "card catalogues," which contained many small pieces of paper that told you where on the shelves you needed to look. Very likely, you spent an unbelievable amount of time and small change standing next to a photocopier, copying a report or an article out page by page. Nowadays you can download anything in a fraction of the time, for free, and while listening to a book or a song to boot, and Natural Heritage information is no exception.

Of all the wild critters universally beloved by children, the one you have the greatest chance of seeing in the winter time is the squirrel. They run, they play, they chatter, they stand adorably on their hind paws with their front paws held in front of their bellies like small furry beggars. They're small and easily won over with a couple of peanuts. They're also a lot tougher than they look, remaining active and outdoors throughout a Canadian winter. This might have something to do with all that black fur.

Counterintuitively, much of the protection for Natural Heritage in Ontario is driven by the Planning Act's Provincial Policy Statement, better known for driving urban density levels, development charges and zoning--but Natural Heritage is defined ecologically, rather than culturally:

2.1 Natural Heritage

2.1.1 Natural features and areas shall be protected for the long term.

2.1.2 The diversity and connectivity of natural features in an area, and the long-term ecological function and biodiversity of natural heritage systems, should be maintained, restored or, where possible, improved, recognizing linkages between and among natural heritage features and areas, surface water features and ground water features.

2.1.3 Development and site alteration shall not be permitted in:

1. significant habitat of endangered species and threatened species;
2. significant wetlands in Ecoregions 5E, 6E and 7E1; and
3. significant coastal wetlands.

Climate change often sounds like it's something that happens somewhere else: the ice at the poles melts, island nations (and Manhattan) go under water, more Category 5 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. But what about Toronto? OK, summer's hotter, winter's warmer, especially at night--does that sound so bad? (Though keep in mind that more heat means more smog, and smog kills about 1,700 people each year in Toronto.) A longer growing season? More shorts weather? We're going to complain?

Well, yes. For one thing, those catastrophic weather events will hit here too. But forget about that. Humans are actually not the only living things in the city. Let's take one example: birds.

A Chickadee

When I first heard that Heritage Toronto was looking for a blogger to cover natural heritage, I understood it right away. Of course, now that I'm sitting down to try to define it, it's not so simple. Natural Heritage is an idea more easily understood than described: natural or non-human features of the landscape or environment with special ecological or cultural significance, whether due to their history, their current ecological role, their rarity, their beauty, or some combination of the above or other factors.

It could be a species, a single plant, a plant or animal community, a landscape, an ecosystem, a geological formation, a type of landscape or ecosystem wherever found--but whatever it is, it's important enough to be protected for the use, study and enjoyment of future generations. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 176 sites globally as natural World Heritage Sites, including nine in Canada, based on the following four criteria:

... Read more