The High Park Nature Centre is operated by High Park Initiatives - the non-profit arm of the HPCAC (Charitable number 86638 9505 RR001). To book a visit or for more information contact the Nature Centre at 416-392-1748 Ext 6 or naturecentre@highpark.org
APPRECIATION RESPECT STEWARDSHIP
The High Park Nature Centre is committed to the promotion of responsible stewardship of the natural environment. We offer year-round outdoor experiential environmental education programs that provide park visitors of all ages with the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the park's unique ecosystems and to participate in the restoration of the park’s natural areas.
Elementary School Program Offerings (Updated to June 2008)
Programs for Children and Families (April-June 2008 Program)
2008 Open House and Earth Week Celebration
Summer Family Nature Walks (July-August 2008)
Birthday Parties (Spring 2008)
The Nature Centre aims to offer an enriched educational experience that will have a long-term impact on individual attitudes toward the natural environment and contribute to the protection of High Park's rare and significant natural areas.
Centrally located on 400 acres of land in the heart of the Toronto, High Park provides visitors with a unique and unusual sense of wilderness. The park is home to countless species of wildlife, including insects, birds, amphibians and reptiles, fish and mammals. Recognized as one of the most significant natural sites within the City of Toronto, the park contains an outstanding concentration of rare plant species, including woodland fern-leaf, cup plant, shrubby St. John's Wort, and the wild blue lupine.
About one-third of High Park’s terrestrial system is considered to be ecologically significant because of the rare vegetation and wildlife found there. The most famous and admired plant communities in the park are the black oak savannahs; remnants of the sand prairie systems that once covered much of southern Ontario’s landscape. By some estimates, less than one percent of oak savannah ecosystems are left in the world and High Park contains the fourth largest remnant globally.
It is easy to think that the natural environment in High Park will always be there for humans to use and enjoy. However, the rapid expansion of the city over the last century has endangered and degraded the park’s natural environment. If we want future generations to be able to experience this incredible natural legacy in the heart of our bustling city, we need to teach people how to protect and restore its natural areas. This unique and fragile environment needs the Nature Centre’s educational programs to engage the heads, hands and hearts of park visitors in stewardship activities that will ensure the future of High Park and position them to practice environmental stewardship in their daily lives.