An historic agreement signed last November establishes the University of Toronto Scarborough as the primary research and education partner with Parks Canada, as the government agency prepares to open the new Rouge National Urban Park.
In last year’s Speech from the Throne, the federal government announced plans to transform Rouge Valley into Canada’s first national urban park. At 47 square kilometres, the current Rouge Park is 10 times larger than New York’s Central Park, 30 times larger than London’s High Park, and its location—on the border of Scarborough and Pickering—puts it within driving distance for 20 percent of Canada’s population.
The park is home to a wide range of unique natural and cultural resources, including two National Historic Sites, a rare Carolinian forest system, numerous species at risk and several internationally renowned geological outcrops. It is also a sanctuary for tens of thousands of city dwellers who visit the park every year to hike, swim and camp.
According to Malcolm Campbell, vice-principal (research), this collaboration with Parks Canada offers plenty of exciting scientific and educational opportunities for UTSC, and highlights the campus’s growing reputation as a world-renowned centre for environmental science.
“UTSC is located at the very interface between the urban and natural worlds, both geographically speaking and in terms of our scientific and educational mandates,” says Campbell. “This partnership will provide our researchers and student body with a multi-dimensional ecological and cultural resource at our very doorstep—a place of wilderness, wonder and exploration where the ecological stewards and natural scientists of tomorrow will receive a world-class education. We couldn’t be more excited to help lead the transformation of this local and national treasure.”