Urban Ravine Summit: Connecting People, Place & Purpose

Join us on Friday, November 7, 2025, for a full-day event exploring the role of Toronto’s ravine system in building more connected, resilient, and inclusive communities. Hosted at Toronto Botanical Garden, the Urban Ravine Summit brings together municipal staff, community leaders, environmental professionals, planners, and nonprofit partners to explore how we care for and work within ravine landscapes. With a focus on connection — to people, to place, and to shared purpose — this year’s program will highlight collaborative models, nature-based solutions, and the importance of community in shaping our urban ecosystems. 

Friday, November 7, 2025
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto

Presented by Toronto Botanical Garden and Park People
Generously supported by the Echo Foundation and Enbridge

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Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Nadina Galle
The Wild is Calling: Reconnecting to Nature, Right Where We Live 

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Agenda

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Learning Sessions

The Loop Trail: Connecting the People of Toronto to Nature and Each Other
Panel Discussion: Led by Evergreen
Explore the vision for The Loop — an ambitious project that weaves together Toronto’s ravine system, hydro corridors, and waterfront into a continuous multi-use active transportation trail over 80km long.  Led in collaboration with Evergreen and partners, this session introduces the project’s goals and progress to date, followed by an interactive opportunity to share ideas, priorities, and possibilities for the future of this bold new public space initiative. 

Wilket Creek Ravine Tour
Homa Jammehdiabadi & Wai Yeung, Toronto Botanical Garden 
Discover the beauty of Wilket Creek Ravine through a guided tour of Toronto Botanical Garden and into Wilket Creek, which connects to Toronto’s expansive ravine system. Along the way, you’ll uncover the plants, wildlife, and history of Toronto’s ravine system, while learning about the beauty—and challenges—of these vital urban green spaces. 

Anishinaabemowin Bird Names
Junaid Shahzad Khan, Andrés Jiménez Monge & Joseph Pitawanakwat, Creator’s Garden  
Join the Creator’s Garden Birds team as we take a walk through Anishinaabe territory in Toronto. Engage in the ecological understandings inherent within Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language), and how the language encodes living a good life here on Anishinaabe Aki. The talk with Joseph Pitawanakwat, Junaid Khan, and Andrés Jiménez will cover: History of contemporary naming conventions; ecological stories encoded in Anishinaabemowin; A taxonomic classification system that focuses on relationships and responsibility. 

Introduction to Forest Bathing
Laura Bincik, Toronto Botanical Garden 
In this one-hour outdoor session, participants will be introduced to the origin of Forest Bathing and briefly consider some of the benefits of the practice. Covering a distance of about 1.5 Km at a slow walking pace through the Toronto Botanical Garden and Edwards Gardens ravine, participants will be guided by a series of invitations to awaken their senses and intentionally connect with nature in the present moment. Participants should dress for the weather and wear close-toed shoes. 

A Gardening Conundrum: Why are invasive plants still sold in garden centres?
Claudette Sims, Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation (CCIPR) and Master Gardeners of Ontario (MGOI) 
Claudette will uncover why invasive plants are still sold, show how to connect with gardeners on this complex issue, and share practical steps to protect biodiversity at home and in our communities. 

Measuring Health, Wellbeing, & Equity through Greenspace Programs: A Toolkit and Insights from Sparking Change Toronto –
Nadha Hassen, Joy Sammy, Kate Mulligan, Shah Mohiuddin & Eugene Slonimerov Park People, University of Toronto, Prairie Drive Park Resident-led Group, Home Memory Works 
This presentation shares key insights and a practical toolkit for measuring health, wellbeing, and equity through community-led greenspace programs. Grounded in findings from Park People’s Sparking Change Toronto initiative, this session highlights how community-led nature programming can foster belonging, social connection, and health equity in urban environments. Participants will also gain insights into evaluation approaches that center community voices. 

Fireside Tree Talk with Elder Donna Powless 
Elder Donna Powless from Six Nations, and leader of the Taiaiako’n Historical Preservation Society, will be sharing traditional names and stories of trees and other plants important to her Cayuga culture. We will be discussing trees, including Onęˀdagó:wah (White Pine), and Sugar Maple (Ohwáhdaˀ), as well as other plant relatives, including the Three Sisters and the Sacred Medicines. Depending on the mood of the group, we may even learn – and sing – a traditional song together! 
Please note: this session is two hours and will run for both breakout session blocks. Participants will only be able to register for this single session.

Centering Equity in Public Greenspace Initiatives: A Fire Circle Sharing Session
Colin Love, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) 
Join this session to connect with others who are working to meaningfully embed equity into public greenspace initiatives. Tools and case studies from the Highline Network’s Community First Toolkit will be introduced. Please bring your own best practices, questions, and ideas to discuss with the group. This session welcomes everyone who resonates with these themes. 

Making Trails and Ravines Safer and More Inclusive through Community-Engaged Research
Sophie Callahan, The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) at Clean Air Partnership 
Green spaces like Toronto’s multi-use trail and ravine system are essential to communities’ health and well-being. But how do we know who actually uses and benefits from these spaces? And how can we identify and prioritize changes to trails’ design, amenities, and programming that can best serve the needs of the community? In our recent “Understanding Access to Toronto’s Parks and Multiuse Trails” study, we sought to answer these questions with community members through trail intercept surveys, group walk audits, and focus groups. In this workshop session, we’ll share some of the key practical insights from our experiences and reflect with participants on ways local groups can benefit from similar participatory approaches to understanding and responding to their community’s needs. 

Nordheimer Ravine: An Exemplary Process of Revitalization and Citizen Engagement
Susan Aaron, University of Toronto 
The Nordheimer Ravine has undergone a unique and yet exemplary process of nature revitalization. It is in the Don River watershed. The Castle Frank brook runs from the Oak Ridge Moraine to the Don, and when buried in pipes, the water that fed it pooled, preventing a grass park in some areas. In the late 1990s, three wetlands were created to hold water. This presentation will speak to the original design of wetlands and the 20 years of work by community and professional city Forestry staff to create an environmentally significant area. My additional project is to expand that revitalization onto surrounding private slopes and nearby public parks. I will reference the three groups involved- governance, academia (student research), and community participation. 

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Presenters

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