
Accidental Wilderness
The Origins and Ecology of Toronto's Tommy Thompson Park
Walter H. Kehm(Author)
Robert Burley(Photographer)
Aevo UTP (Publisher)
Published on 10. November 2020
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-1-4875-0834-0 (ISBN)
Description
A fortuitous urban miracle, Tommy Thompson Park is an oasis of "accidental wilderness" on Toronto's lakeshore.
Initially created as a landfill site on the city's rapidly developing waterfront, the Leslie Street Spit, as the park is affectionately known, has seen its physical and ecological footprint grow dramatically over recent decades. Forests, grasslands, and wildlife now thrive - all within a stone's throw of some of the most densely populated areas of North America's fourth-largest city/
Accidental Wilderness is a rich and lyrical collection of essays curated by internationally recognized landscape architect and original designer of Tommy Thompson Park, Walter H. Kehm. A stunning collection of photographs by renowned landscape photographer Robert Burley complements these essays, which explore the city's port origins; the principles and design of the park's master plan; the native-plant succession process; the park's unique flora and fauna; public advocacy efforts; and public recreation in the park and its effect on mental, physical, and spiritual health.
In an era when the dangers of climate change have begun to affect daily life, Tommy Thompson Park offers a hopeful narrative about how nature can flourish in, and contribute to, the well-being of twenty-first-century cities.
Initially created as a landfill site on the city's rapidly developing waterfront, the Leslie Street Spit, as the park is affectionately known, has seen its physical and ecological footprint grow dramatically over recent decades. Forests, grasslands, and wildlife now thrive - all within a stone's throw of some of the most densely populated areas of North America's fourth-largest city/
Accidental Wilderness is a rich and lyrical collection of essays curated by internationally recognized landscape architect and original designer of Tommy Thompson Park, Walter H. Kehm. A stunning collection of photographs by renowned landscape photographer Robert Burley complements these essays, which explore the city's port origins; the principles and design of the park's master plan; the native-plant succession process; the park's unique flora and fauna; public advocacy efforts; and public recreation in the park and its effect on mental, physical, and spiritual health.
In an era when the dangers of climate change have begun to affect daily life, Tommy Thompson Park offers a hopeful narrative about how nature can flourish in, and contribute to, the well-being of twenty-first-century cities.
Reviews / Votes
"The Spit is miraculous and amazing, growing out of Toronto like a volcanic island. Accidental Wilderness is a stunningly beautiful and hopeful book that captures with writing that is both technical and romantic the story of how the Spit came to be and what it almost was if not for the interventions of the people who protected it."- Shawn Micallef (Spacing magazine) "This book will leave readers with a great appreciation of what has been created in Lake Ontario at the end of Leslie Street and what impact that creation could have on the future of wilderness - accidental or otherwise - in Canada."
- Michael Olsen (Ontario Field Ornithologists ) "This beautifully produced ode celebrates a unique place on the shores of Toronto's Lake Ontario. The Spit, as it is known locally, was a dump site for the city's midcentury building boom, a landform not so much planned as accumulated. But nature arrived uninvited, spurring several decades of local advocacy, and eventually a singular urban park emerged."
(Landscape Architecture Magazine ) "Part field guide, part environmental history, Accidental Wilderness would make an excellent manual for ecological restoration along the entire lakeshore."
- Amy Lavender Harris (Spacing Magazine) "The book's value is the detailed accounting of how the accidental creation of Tommy Thompson Park evolved in concert with Kehm's park master plan. The planning and design process could be used as a framework for creating and restoring urban wildlands in Great Lakes communities and other coastal ecosystem areas. Such a framework is especially critical given how climate change is shifting weather-induced physical processes and temperature. Burley's photography provides the reader with an intimate feel for the created park character. The book is recommended for those interested in more ecologically based planning and design processes."
- Richard Smardon, SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry (Landscape Journal)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Canada
Publishing group
University of Toronto Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
100 Illustrations, 20 maps, 10 figures
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 307 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
1383 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-0834-0 (9781487508340)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Walter H. Kehm is a landscape architect and was a professor and Director of the School of Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph.
Robert Burley is an artist working in photography. His projects often explore the transition between city and country.
Robert Burley is an artist working in photography. His projects often explore the transition between city and country.
Content
Foreword
David Miller
Introduction
Walter H. Kehm
Portfolio I
Robert Burley
Part I: Epiphany
The Spontaneous Ecology of Tommy Thompson Park
Peter Del Tredici
Building the Leslie Street Spit
Wayne Reeves
Aquatic Park
Walter H. Kehm
The Evolution of Advocacy
John Carley
Portfolio II
Robert Burley
Part II: Process
Conservation by Design: The 1986 Plan
Walter H. Kehm
Plants and Natural Succession
Gavin Miller
Birds and Birding at the Spit
Garth Vernon Riley
Mammals and Fish
Gord MacPherson and Walter H. Kehm
Habitat Projects and Wildlife Management
Andrea Chreston
Portfolio III
Robert Burley
Part III: Evolution
People in the Park
Walter H. Kehm
Let the Spit Be!!
Robert Burley
Home
Chief R. Stacey Laforme
Acknowledgments
Comparative Parks
List of Bird Species
List of Plant Species
References
Further Resources
Image Key
Contributors
David Miller
Introduction
Walter H. Kehm
Portfolio I
Robert Burley
Part I: Epiphany
The Spontaneous Ecology of Tommy Thompson Park
Peter Del Tredici
Building the Leslie Street Spit
Wayne Reeves
Aquatic Park
Walter H. Kehm
The Evolution of Advocacy
John Carley
Portfolio II
Robert Burley
Part II: Process
Conservation by Design: The 1986 Plan
Walter H. Kehm
Plants and Natural Succession
Gavin Miller
Birds and Birding at the Spit
Garth Vernon Riley
Mammals and Fish
Gord MacPherson and Walter H. Kehm
Habitat Projects and Wildlife Management
Andrea Chreston
Portfolio III
Robert Burley
Part III: Evolution
People in the Park
Walter H. Kehm
Let the Spit Be!!
Robert Burley
Home
Chief R. Stacey Laforme
Acknowledgments
Comparative Parks
List of Bird Species
List of Plant Species
References
Further Resources
Image Key
Contributors