Dave Taylor calls it “Mississauga’s best-kept secret.”
Standing on a boardwalk under a leafy canopy amidst the dappled light that always seems to make the floor of the forest a magical place in late afternoon, one is not the least bit tempted to disagree.
Off to the left of the boardwalk stands a gigantic sugar maple tree that is in the range of 400 years old. The specially-sprung walkway is designed to minimize the disturbance of the fungi on the forest floor that are critical to the maple’s survival.
Special boxes have been built along the boardwalk for the white-footed mice who reside in the woods and are the subject of research by a University of Toronto at Mississauga professor.
This is Riverwood, Mississauga’s garden park in progress on the east bank of the Credit River and Taylor is the education director for the Mississauga Garden Council, overseeing the school and public education programs for the property.
“To have this wonderful piece of wilderness one mile from where I live and three miles from the city centre... it’s amazing,” says the 57-year-old, who taught in Mississauga’s public schools for 31 years. “As a photographer and a naturalist, this is fantastic.”
In another life, as the author of 90 books including a new one on Black Bears, Taylor has seen parks all over North America. He’s off to Yellowstone next week.
He thinks Riverwood has the potential to stand among the best of them. “You’ve pretty much got everything that was here in 1850,” he says.
The remnants of a butchered elk have been found in front of the Chappell estate, the former home of MP Hyl Chappell and his wife Grace, whose rose garden has been restored.
There’s hope that the endangered Jefferson Salamander might still be on the property. The kettle pond could be reconfigured to provide a home.
Wood ducks have been seen on the property and students may be enlisted to build nesting boxes for them.
Investigation is underway to see if flying squirrels can be reintroduced to the property. Work by UTM students has shown that wildlife from Erindale Park is moving north to Riverwood. There are two pair of resident coyotes. White-tailed deer seem to be everywhere.
A jump in the population of small mammals has piqued the interest of predatory birds including a Coopers Hawk who has been seen circling with the turkey vultures, which are common.
A pending partnership deal will create a bird-feeding trail. “I hope you’ll be able to see a barred owl waiting by the feeders like you can at Cranberry Marsh,” says Taylor.
Partnerships with Heritage Mississauga, a series of strong garden speakers (like Mississauga’s own Liz Primeau), the ongoing support of UTM staff and student researchers and a walk and talk program that introduces the park through the eyes of the experts, are all building momentum for the park.
For the most part, the gardens in the master plan are still a ways off, but that
doesn’t faze Taylor a bit.
“It should be like Disney World, it should never be finished,” he says.
Interesting comment, but a bad analogy.
For the essence of Riverwood will be the fact that it will be the anti-Disney world, a place where natural beauty can be found in all its unadorned glory in the midst of the urban experience.
