Toronto Nature Stewards (TNS), with the agreement of the City of Toronto Urban Forestry Division, runs a stewardship program on public land in ravines and natural areas without direct City supervision. Sites are managed by Lead Stewards who have been trained, follow agreed-upon protocols for ecological restoration, and report their stewardship activities.
How We Restore Land
TNS Stewards support the ecological restoration of ravines and natural areas by picking up litter, removing invasive plants, planting native species, and monitoring the environmental impact of stewardship activities. We meet as small, local groups to care for approved sites in Toronto’s ravines and natural areas. Each stewardship site has been approved by the City of Toronto and each stewardship group is committed to stewarding their local site for several years.
Our Mission
To engage and educate the people of Toronto in the stewardship of our ravines and natural areas.
Our Vision
A Toronto with healthy, biodiverse ecosystems where plants and animals thrive.
Our History
Toronto Nature Stewards grew out of the Toronto Ravine Strategy (2017), Biodiversity Strategy (2019) and Pollinator Protection Strategy (2018). A pilot started in spring of 2021 with 9 sites, 23 trained Lead Stewards and 153 stewards. The program has since expanded to more than 90 Lead Stewards and 700 Stewards, operating across more than 30 sites throughout the city.
Stewardship is Our Solution
Science-based
We provide evidence-based training and resources to Lead Stewards, private property owners and volunteer Stewards for improving natural area ecological health and biodiversity.
Local lens
Each piece of land has unique challenges and solutions. Through long-term stewardship, we can form a relationship with the land by learning from and caring for it.
Community involvement
There is a tremendous need and opportunity for stewardship in Toronto that cannot be met by government alone. Community involvement in stewardship will benefit not only the land and resident wild species, but the people who participate in it.
These three pillars all work together to make Toronto Nature Stewards work, as demonstrated in our 2023 Plant Inventory Report, assembled through the hard work of volunteers at stewardship sites throughout Toronto.
