Conservation Projects

An innovative freshwater marsh restoration venture, Project Paradise includes a range of conservation projects with a long-term goal to create the underlying conditions for ecosystem recovery.

RBG’s nature sanctuaries contain about 50 hectares of grasslands, 45 of which are being actively conserved to help this diverse ecosystem thrive. Grasslands have crucial flowers, food plants, and habitat for pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as bird and mammal species that are becoming increasingly rare.

The Nature Sanctuaries at Royal Botanical Gardens are home too 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of forest ecosystem with over 70 species of trees.

To ensure that all species have an opportunity to persist, 20 percent of RBG’s nature sanctuaries remain without formal trails, creating core areas protected from human and other associated disturbances. These areas have been named ‘Special Protection Areas’. For the visitor, next to these areas there are observation points and interpretive signage to help you appreciate the significance of these unique spaces.

In 2013, RBG was home to the first eaglets to hatch on the Canadian shoreline of Lake Ontario in over 50 years.

Located at the mouth of the Desjardins Canal, RBG’s Fishway is protecting native species and their wetland habitats.

With a variety of habitat adjacent to these extensive wetlands, it’s no surprise that RBG is home to four native turtle species. Through our wetland restoration efforts and the Site–Specific Recovery Plan, RBG works to protect and restore habitat for turtles and all wildlife across our 2,100 acres of protected nature lands.  

RBG’s widespread properties support a diverse range of species concentrated in our natural lands. Invasive species are one of the largest threats to the sustainability of the region’s biodiversity.

An herbarium is a collection of dried plant specimens carefully preserved, labelled, and arranged for reference. Today, RBG’s Herbarium (known internationally as HAM) houses approximately 60, 000 vascular plant specimens, and is quite unique as it includes both wild and cultivated plants. Over 1,500 genera, from 230 families, are represented within the collection. The herbarium is like an index or dictionary for the plant biodiversity at Royal Botanical Gardens! The herbarium is the base for our field botany program, the on-going documentation of plant species at RBG, a natural biodiversity hotspot!