To celebrate the beginning of Earth Week, Rouge Park joined together with the Regional Municipality of York to commemorate their Greening partnership. This is a joint venture that will plant tree and restore lands throughout Rouge Park.

"We are embarking on a long term implementation strategy that will balance the natural, cultural and agricultural needs of Rouge Park and contribute to our target to naturalize 50 hectares of Park lands on a yearly basis, " said Gord Weeden, Chair of the Rouge Park Alliance. "Not only will this partnership be implementing our Rouge Park plans, but it will complement York Region in implementing their Greening strategy."

York Region has been a proud partner of Rouge Park since the mid 1990's, through membership in the Rouge Park Alliance, and operates its Heritage and Park Improvement Committee.

Rouge Park was expanded by six square kilometres in eastern Markham this week, bringing the size of Canada’s premier urban wilderness Park to over 46 km2, or 13 times the size of Central Park in New York City.

“Rouge Park is all about protection and connections: ecological, cultural and recreational,“ observed Gord Weeden, Chair of the Park’s board of directors, the Rouge Park Alliance. The new park lands in the Petticoat Creek and Duffins Creek watersheds will connect to important forests, meadows, sensitive areas and valley systems east of the Park. The expansion of Rouge Park enhances the major ecological corridor joining the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario, bridging Steeles Avenue East. “Planning for transportation in this area can now consider how to best maintain this link for the free and safe passage of people and wildlife,” emphasized Mr. Weeden.

“This major increase to Rouge Park’s land base by the Ontario Government demonstrates a new view: that ‘green infrastructure’ is as important for Ontario as conventional infrastructure of transportation, water and sewage servicing,“ pointed out Lewis Yeager, the Park’s general manager. The Park plays an important role in improving air quality in the Toronto area since natural lands with healthy vegetation filter pollutants from the air and absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere, helping to reduce the undesirable impacts of climate change.

The newly expanded Park will also make a significant contribution to protecting the sources of drinking water for thousands of Toronto area residents, minimizing negative erosion, and mitigating stream flow and water quality impacts from new growth in the surrounding urban areas. These natural lands will also help Markham and York Region reach their natural cover goals. Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham, noted that these new lands will increase the “greenprint” for Markham, as the municipality enters a new phase of sustainability planning.

“Rouge Park’s ecological and recreational benefits are important amenities for the rapidly-growing population in the GTA. This park expansion has not only ecological benefits, but enables better connections between regional trail systems such as the Oak Ridges Trail and Trans-Canada Trail systems and our planned trails,” said Mr. Yeager.

Rouge Park is home to a variety of landscapes: forests, meadows, wetlands, river valleys and upland areas and provides a major reservoir of biodiversity in the most urbanized portion of Ontario’s Greenbelt. The only working farms in the City of Toronto are within the Park and a mosaic of essential ecological restoration and sustainable farming will be maintained over the long-term. The Park is also committed to protecting its historic heritage, which represents thousands of years of continuous human habitation.

The Ontario government is protecting greenspace and curbing urban sprawl by dedicating an additional 1,500 acres of significant natural land to expand its total contribution to Rouge Park to 5,500 acres (22.3 square kilometres), Gerry Phillips, Minister of Government Services announced today. This will add an additional 15 per cent more land to Rouge Park, making it one of the largest natural preserves in an urban area in North America.

"Ontarians want to know their communities will be healthy and clean - that local natural areas will be protected and accessible," said Phillips. "By expanding greenspace and preserving natural areas, we're creating a legacy for families to enjoy for years to come."

The Ontario government is delivering 1,500 acres of significant land, which is equivalent to almost four times the size of Toronto's High Park, on the condition that this land remains protected. The park's ecological and recreational benefits will be important amenities for the Greater Toronto Area as Southern Ontario's population continues to grow.

The Ontario government previously donated more than 3,500 acres to Rouge Park. It has been designated part of the provincial Greenbelt, 1.8 million acres of permanently protected greenspace in Ontario.

Rouge Park, now over 11,500 acres (46 square kilometres) in size, protects natural areas, national historic sites, and greenspace that stretch from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario. It offers visitors hiking, camping, a beach and spectacular views.