Toronto, a Generation Restoration role model city, has decades of experience with large-scale restoration across diverse urban ecosystems, including forests, ravines, wetlands, and post-industrial lands. It is a major metropolitan center integrating nature into core planning frameworks, and has demonstrated commitment to justice across its restoration projects, through tree equity and environmental justice initiatives.

About the city

Toronto’s urban area has a population of approximately 3.3 million residents, while the greater metro area is estimated to contain approximately 7.1 million residents. Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario in southeastern Canada and is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, at the northern extent of the Carolinian forest. It has a continental climate with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Notably, 17% of Toronto’s land area (approximately 11,000 hectares) is mapped as forested river valley (ravine) lands. As Canada’s largest city and financial hub that houses key industries including finance, technology, and manufacturing, Toronto plays a central role in shaping national approaches to sustainability and urban development. Indigenous peoples, including the ancestors of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, have lived in the area for over 10,000 years. 

Local challenges

Toronto is facing an increasing number of hot days, while cold days are decreasing. This is resulting in heat-related health impacts, increased pressure on green and grey infrastructure, and increased proliferation of non-native insect pests and plants. Precipitation is projected to both increase and become more variable with increasing climate change, with greater incidence of extreme rain events. This has consequences for flooding and erosion, particularly in Toronto’s ravines, the primary channels that move stormwater through the city. Climate variation also impacts biodiversity, which is already under pressure due to the city’s urban growth encroaching upon ecosystems, and the displacement of local flora by invasive species. 

How the city leads in restoration

Toronto stands out as a Generation Restoration Role Model City not only for its extensive restoration record, but for the way it has embedded ecological restoration into its urban planning frameworks. Toronto has designed, implemented, and maintained various restoration projects, many of which were implemented in partnership with the Toronto and Region Conservation Agency (TRCA), a government agency that is dedicated to enhancing the region’s natural environment and protecting its land, water, and communities from the impacts of flooding and extreme weather events.

Toronto’s expertise in urban biodiversity planning and management includes decades of restoration and maintenance of a variety of ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, riparian and dune habitats, black oak savannahs, and urban areas. Green infrastructure plays a pivotal role, and initiatives such as its “Green Streets” support programs that capture and direct rainwater while improving habitat connectivity. Toronto’s urban forest management includes invasive species control; native tree, shrub, and herbaceous planting; a Tree Seed Diversity program to supply high-quality, source-identified native trees and shrubs to support Toronto’s various forest restoration planting programs; community stewardship programming; and a well-established Traditional and Prescribed Burn program for black oak savannah habitats.

A core strength of Toronto’s approach is policy integration: the Official Plan, Ravine Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy, and Pollinator Protection Strategy all integrate ecological protection and restoration into the city’s land-use and public health agendas. Its Ravine Strategy guides ravine management, use, enhancement, and protection, and its Biodiversity Strategy supports healthier, more robust biodiversity and increased awareness of nature in Toronto. Specifically, its Pollinator Protection Strategy has the goal of protecting the more than 360 species of bees and over 100 species of butterflies and other pollinators within Toronto.

Toronto’s approach to restoration emphasizes extensive project monitoring and adapting plans based on key learnings. This includes assessments of tree canopy coverage, ecosystem services valuation of the urban forest and ravines, and various ecosystem inventories and health assessment methodologies. Environmentally Significant Areas, which are designated priority areas for restoration, receive focused restoration and invasive species management efforts. Furthermore, the TRCA developed a Nature-based Climate Solutions siting tool to determine strategic locations where nature-based solutions can be implemented across its jurisdiction, including Toronto. Toronto was also the first Canadian municipality to adopt a tree equity approach and in 2024 launched a free online tool called the Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA). The TESA tool uses the tree equity approach for environmental restoration related to social justice and equitable access to the benefits trees provide. The City’s strategy to achieve the 40% canopy cover target by 2050 is to expand the tree canopy where it is needed most.

In its ecological restoration and stewardship projects, Toronto focuses on community engagement and partnership opportunities. This includes involving city residents in tree planting and stewardship events, and ongoing volunteer engagement at restoration sites through its Community Stewardship Program, and community grant programs. These programs illustrate how ecological restoration can also build social cohesion and green employment pathways, particularly for equity-deserving groups. Toronto has also integrated partnerships with other levels of government, the not-for-profit sector, and private philanthropy to expand efforts for ecological restoration and community engagement.

Toronto has engaged in various notable restoration projects. The Don Valley Brick Works Park is a former brick quarry and brick-making operation that is now a flagship natural environment park featuring a thriving wetland complex. Restoration included construction of a series of wetlands to provide habitat for aquatic plants and wildlife and naturally filter water. With the help of dedicated volunteers and strong partnerships, the project successfully introduced wetland, dry wildflower meadow, and forest plant communities to different parts of the site, creating a variety of ecosystem types. Now the site is considered a model for urban ecosystem planning given its extensive landscape restoration, re-naturalization, wetland re-establishment, and adaptive management practices.

The Humber Bay Butterfly Habitat is an ecological restoration project on an area of shoreline fill that provides critical habitat for a variety of native butterfly and pollinator species. The area was once a barren piece of land created by the deposition of lakefill at the mouth of Mimico Creek on Lake Ontario. This project was an opportunity for naturalization in a highly urbanized area, and through inter-agency, federal, provincial, and volunteer efforts the land was transformed into habitat for butterflies and other wildlife. The area is now comprised of many different plant communities, including wildflower meadow, short grass prairie, woodland, and wetland. Dedicated volunteers have played a large role in restoration efforts by planting native wildflowers, shrubs, trees, grasses and sedges, as well as removing invasive species and monitoring the plant and wildlife communities in the park.

Tommy Thompson Park, owned and managed by the TRCA, is a constructed site in Lake Ontario that was originally designed to create new land for port-related activities, using millions of cubic meters of concrete, earth fill, dredged sand, and dumping of construction debris. This area then became an important habitat for biodiversity, particularly for migratory birds. However, restoration was needed to address issues related to contamination, invasive species, and erosion of the shoreline, with the broad goals of preserving significant species, protecting environmentally significant areas, and enhancing aquatic and terrestrial habitat. Restoration techniques included shoreline stabilization and management of erosion, reconstruction of wetlands and coastal lagoons, removal of contaminated materials, and re-vegetation with native species and control of invasive species. Work is ongoing, though today the park is a premier site for nature viewing, with more than 300 recorded species of birds.

Beare Hill Park is a former landfill that is now a natural environment park. The landfill was operational until 1982, following which natural regeneration and community tree planting created biodiverse areas of forest, meadow, and wetland habitats. The City of Toronto has put significant effort into decommissioning the closed landfill and preparing the area for safe use as a public park.

The Meadoway is an ongoing restoration project that, once completed, will be a 16-kilometer urban greenspace for walking, cycling, and other activities. The project began through repurposing a 3.25-kilometer section of under-utilized space beneath a utility corridor, transforming it into a thriving native meadow that supports a variety of butterflies, pollinators, birds, and wildflower species. Following this successful prototype, the Meadoway is now expanding into one of Canada's largest urban linear parks, and it will connect four ravines, 15 parks, 34 neighborhoods, and more than 1,000 diverse species of flora and fauna.

Highlight impact metrics

  • More than 360 bee species and 100 butterfly species protected
  • Toronto has 89 Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs), 9 Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs), and 5 Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs)
  • Urban forest of over 11.5 million trees, including streetscapes, parks and ravines, commercial and industrial lands, and residential properties 
  • Ravines provide $822 million annually in ecological and recreational services, support biodiversity, house critical grey and green infrastructure and offer essential spaces for recreation and well-being
  • Since 2020, 3,760 hectares of land restored, including management of invasive species (through implementation of the City's Ravine Strategy)
  • Since 2020, 16 capital projects delivered (through implementation of the City's Ravine Strategy), such as wetland restoration, multi-use trail upgrades, and wayfinding, totaling $12.3 million ($10 million in federal and provincial grants and $2.3 million from the City)
  • Engagement of around 10,000 participants annually in over 300 City-led events for planting, stewardship, education, and outreach
  • Urban forest provides annual ecosystem services that include: $8.2 million energy savings, $4.0 million gross carbon sequestration, $37.6 million pollution removal, $4.8 million avoided runoff, and $55.0 million total annual benefits
  • Approximately 120,000 trees and shrubs planted each year
  • The City of Toronto has declared a climate emergency and has strengthened its carbon-reduction goal and has since adopted enhanced targets and actions for achieving net zero by 2040

Role Model City

City Map

Ecosystem Types

Forests, Oceans and coasts and Urban areas

Climate, Biodiversity, and Pollution Risks Addressed

  • Extreme temperatures
  • Storms (cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc)
  • Extreme precipitation / flooding
  • Coastal erosion
  • Habitat destruction
  • Invasive species
  • Species loss / extinction
  • Ecosystem degradation
  • Air pollution
  • Water pollution
  • Soil contamination
  • Noise pollution

Restoration Techniques Applied

  • Ecological connectivity
  • Erosion control
  • Invasive species control
  • Native species
  • Parks & green spaces
  • Pollinator support
  • Riverbank restoration
  • Shoreline restoration
  • Tree planting
  • Urban forests
  • Waste management
  • Wetland restoration
  • Wildlife support

Beyond restoration

Toronto has also catalyzed numerous policies and strategies that advance resilience, sustainability, and quality of life. In its Resilience Strategy, Toronto has outlined the vision, goals, and actions to help the city survive, adapt, and thrive in the face of complex challenges such as climate change and growing inequities. The strategy is meant to engage people across sectors and spheres, including businesses, academia, NGOs, and city residents, to drive action towards resilience. 

Toronto’s TransformTO Net Zero Strategy is an ambitious strategy to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions in Toronto to net-zero by 2040. The strategy targets key areas for greenhouse gas reduction, including establishing a carbon budget, reducing natural gas use, increasing access to low-carbon transportation options, and increasing local renewable energy. As part of this strategy, Toronto launched the Indigenous Climate Action Grants program to support local Indigenous communities undertaking projects and initiatives that address the climate emergency and protect the environment.

Furthermore, Toronto’s Reconciliation Action Plan builds on the City’s existing commitments to Indigenous Peoples, as described in a 10-year plan to advance truth, justice and reconciliation with 28 meaningful actions across five themes: actions to restore truth, actions to right relations and share power, actions for justice, actions to make financial reparations, and actions for the City’s Indigenous Affairs Office. The Plan outlines the dedication of time, space, and money to returning land to Indigenous governments, communities, collectives, and organizations; making financial reparations; and decolonizing its structures, processes, and ways of working. These actions will contribute to the visibility and overall wellbeing of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Toronto through placemaking and placekeeping, supporting economic development and prosperity, increasing civic engagement, honoring Indigenous ways of knowing and being, and recognizing rights to self-determination and self-governance. 

What other cities can learn

Toronto shares the following experience with other cities:

  • Encouraging community participation in planting and stewardship while actively removing barriers is essential for achieving tree equity, so that all neighborhoods experience the benefits of a vibrant urban forest.
  • Investing time in relationship-building and meaningful community engagement fosters trust in municipal programming, leading to stronger support and collective action that drives lasting, positive change.

Further resources