MAY 2006

Sunfish Pond embankment restoration project

Royal Botanical Gardens, in conjunction with GO Transit, is implementing an ambitious restoration project for the Sunfish Pond embankment and associated parts of the Valley Inn area of our Hendrie Valley Nature Sanctuary.

As part of a billion dollar expansion program funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, GO Transit is adding a new rail track on the Lakeshore West rail line between the Desjardins Canal and GO Transit's Burlington Station. The new track allows GO Transit to improve rail service to their Aldershot and Hamilton GO Stations, as well as promoting and encouraging the use of public transit throughout their Lakeshore West corridor. To the north-west of Sunfish Pond, the embankment currently carries two rail tracks. As part of GO Transit's expansion project, this embankment requires widening on the south-West side to accommodate a new third track.

Visitors to the site will notice vegetation is being cleared from the railway embankment at the west side of Sunfish Pond. Built in the mid-19th century to bring railway traffic into Hamilton, this embankment consists of fill placed across the former outlet of Cootes Paradise. Most of the
vegetation that has succeeded in colonizing it is non-native, including dense patches of Amur Honeysuckle
(Lonicera maackii), European Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), and Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila).

The GO Transit expansion project allows us to replace those species with locally-grown native tallgrass savannah plants, including Black Oak (Quercus velutina), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). These are the sort of species that would have historically occurred all along the High Level area.

We are also undertaking restoration projects directed towards the rare turtle populations that reside in this area (Hendrie Valley Nature Sanctuary is home to six native turtle species) including the construction of nesting beds and basking platforms.

The embankment restoration and associated projects is a valuable component of our Project Paradise wetland restoration efforts. For more information on these projects, on the turtles of Hendrie Valley, or on Royal Botanical Gardens' nature sanctuaries, please call 905-527-1158.

For further information on this GO project, please call 416-869-3600, ext. 5175 or for any GO Transit related information, www.gotransit.com.


MARCH 2006

Royal Botanical Gardens Signs Memorandum of Understanding with University of Guelph

A signing ceremony held today to formalize a new relationship between the University of Guelph and Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) means new research opportunities and an enhanced exchange of information between the two. A memorandum of understanding establishing a research partnership was signed today in Hamilton by University of Guelph president Alastair Summerlee and Mark Runciman, Acting Executive Director of Royal Botanical Gardens.

"The University and RBG both have a wealth of knowledge in the fields of horticulture and biodiversity and offer programming and education that is complementary," said Summerlee. "This agreement will allow us to explore our vision for a collaborative partnership that will make optimal use of the strengths of each institution."


Mark Runciman, Executive Director of Royal Botanical Gardens (left), and Professor Alastair Summerlee, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guelph.

Issues to be explored under the partnership include the possibility of collaborative research and the promotion of the importance of horticulture and plants in fostering healthy urban environments, protection and rehabilitation of natural areas, academic opportunities for students and developing new sites for plant trials and testing.

"Royal Botanical Gardens already enjoys strong contacts with many Guelph faculty and there's a lot of interest here in productive research partnerships," said Runciman. "This agreement will encourage us to work together at all levels on new projects that will benefit the people of Ontario and will help us to preserve and celebrate our cultural and natural heritage." He notes that 11 RBG staff members, many of its volunteers and its director emeritus, Leslie Laking, are all Guelph alumni.

Over the past five decades, Royal Botanical Gardens has become a centre of excellence in both horticulture and management of natural areas. Its 2,300 acres of nature sanctuaries contain many important habitats and one of the most significant and best-studied regional floras in Ontario. A herbarium houses some 80,000 specimens of wild plants and horticultural varieties and supports the institution's research activities and education programs. The five major garden areas covering more than 300 acres include domestic and international collections of cultivated plants. The RBG's library and archives have provided research support to staff and visiting researchers and contain many rare and precious documents, including historical collections of seed trade catalogues, information related to the gardening and horticulture industry and the papers of several renowned horticulturists and botanists.

University of Guelph is internationally recognized for its teaching and research in biodiversity and is home to the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, a unit that brings together many biological collections and research activities. Guelph is involved in research in floristics, molecular taxonomy and invasive species and boasts the Ontario Agricultural College Herbarium, a facility that houses more than 120,000 specimens. The University's library and 165-hectare Arboretum also promote and support history, education and exploration of knowledge related to biodiversity and horticulture.

For inquiries, contact:

Dr. David Galbraith
Head of Scientific Development
905 527 1158, ext. 309
dgalbraith@rbg.ca
or
Barbara McKean
Manager of Education
905 527 1158, ext. 247
bmckean@rbg.ca

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