Ontario Nature Secures Rare Whitby Forest
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
The acquisition of Thickson’s Woods protects a critical biodiversity haven from urban sprawl, but experts warn of dwindling green spaces in southern Ontario.
The conservation group Ontario Nature has officially acquired Thickson’s Woods, a 10-hectare nature reserve in Whitby, according to CBC Toronto. The land was transferred last week from the Thickson's Woods Land Trust, a residents' group that originally saved the forest from developers and loggers in 1983.
Andrés Jiménez Monge, executive director of Ontario Nature, stated that the acquisition ensures the land is shielded from urban development in perpetuity. The site is home to over 75 rare species, including dozens classified as at-risk. Monge noted the reserve contains white pine trees between 150 and 250 years old, which are the oldest of their kind remaining along the shores of Lake Ontario.
Retired ecologist James Kamstra told CBC Toronto that the woods serve as a vital haven for pollinators and migratory birds traveling from northern Ontario, noting that there are very few similar spaces left in southern Ontario. Kamstra added that bird populations have declined as development pressures increase across the region, making the preservation of such urban green spaces critical.
Joanne Brown, a former director of the Thickson's Woods Land Trust, said the group sought a partner to ensure the land would not be handed to developers as original volunteers aged or moved away. Thickson’s Woods now marks the 27th nature reserve for Ontario Nature across the province.