Nearest Address: 4801 Dufferin St, North York, ON M3H 5T3
Meets: Inaccessible in 2025
Transit: TBD
G. Ross Lord Park is located in North York between Steeles Ave and Finch Ave, bounded by Dufferin St on the west and residential areas on the east. There are two main areas for stewarding in the park: the western portion, which follows along the West Don River from Steeles Ave to the walking path north of the parks’ sports fields, and the eastern portion, which follows Westminster Creek from Fisherville Rd to Harryetta Gardens. Several plots have been identified in both the western and eastern portions, however, as of 2025, the western portion is inactive due to a City of Toronto construction project along the full length of the area.
The western area consists of a wide variety of ecosystems including dense mixed forests, a large stand of sugar maples, open meadows and several marshes. Several tree plantings had been conducted in the years prior to stewarding with mixed results. The primary stewardship objectives for this area are the removal and monitoring of invasives including garlic mustard, buckthorn, dog strangling vine and burdock.
The eastern area is more urbanized with mixed hardwood forest, low shrubs along the creekbanks and open grassed spaces. The primary objectives for this area are the removal and monitoring of garlic mustard and buckthorn, which are prevalent throughout the site, along with some hedge parsley, dog strangling vine and burdock.
This site also has a unique stewarding arrangement from a corporate partner – Sanofi Pasteur Ltd. – who have been supporting the assessment of the western portion through the establishment of a network of Vegetation Sampling Protocol (VSP) plots. Several overlapping assessments were conducted from 2020 to 2023 to determine the state of the vegetation in the VSP plots with 5-year follow up assessments currently being conducted.
Join the G Ross Lord Stewardship Team
This site is currently inactive for public stewardship. If you’d like to volunteer, please check out our other sites.
Site Document Archive
Note: Site Assessments and past Plant Inventory Reports are present for archival purposes. Site Assessments were prepared by volunteer Lead Stewards in the years indicated, while Plant Inventory Reports were compiled from data collected by volunteer Stewards and Lead Stewards. Site and management unit boundaries have shifted over time and may not necessarily reflect current site limits.