The Happy Valley Forest is home to the eastern newt and other rare wildlife.

The Happy Valley Forest is home to the eastern newt and other rare wildlife.
Photo Credit: Robin Lawson/Nature Conservancy of Canada

Forest with rare species and animals preserved near Toronto

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has acquired two biologically-rich parcels of land just north of Toronto which will be a boon to nature lovers and hikers.

Parts of the Happy Valley Forest have been opened to hikers and the trails are very popular.
Parts of the Happy Valley Forest have been opened to hikers and the trails are very popular. © Robin Lawson/Nature Conservancy of Canada

The Happy Valley Forest is one of the largest remaining forests on Canada’s Oak Ridges Moraine, known for its mature sugar maple and beech upland forests. The conservancy has been acquiring parts of it over 15 years. The latest parcels will connect the properties and bring the total area it owns there to 750 acres.

A place ‘to get back in touch with nature’

“It’s chock full of rare species of plants and animals. We have trees that are approaching 300 years of age. It’s just a wonderful place to go and visit and to really get yourself back in touch with nature,” says James Duncan, a vice president for the province of Ontario at the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

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White trilliums and ferns carpet the Happy Valley Forest floor.
White trilliums and ferns carpet the Happy Valley Forest floor. © Robin Lawson/Nature Conservancy of Canada

The land also has cultural significance as it was a place through which indigenous peoples and early European settlers carried their canoes between Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe.

The acquisition was made with a grant of over $2 million from the Canadian government and a bequest from Mr. Ian Dalton.
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