Avoca Vale Update & Midtown Ravines Monitor

July 2026

This newsletter is issued by the Midtown Ravines Group and provides the latest news on the Vale of Avoca and other ravine lands in midtown Toronto. See more information on progress towards restoration of the Vale of Avoca. Find out about the Midtown Ravines Group.

Vale of Avoca Update

Intrepid walkers take the high road in the Vale of Avoca.

Vale of Avoca July 2026 Update

With summer temperatures reaching peak levels, the Vale of Avoca ravine continues to provide a natural refuge for midtown residents trying to cope with the heat. This underlines the importance of longer-term actions to address erosion of the ravine’s slopes and creek channel, and the dilapidated state of the park’s trail network. Measures leading to rehabilitation of the ravine will soon be entering a more active phase.

The City of Toronto has recently awarded a contract for the development of an integrated plan for the ravine's rehabilitation, to GHD, an engineering, architectural and environmental consultancy that offers a strong set of interdisciplinary capabilities. GHD is intimately acquainted with Yellow Creek and the Vale of Avoca since it produced the Geomorphic Systems Master Plan (GSMP) for the ravine that was released in 2025.

Over the second half of the year, work will continue on three linked projects: remediating the area below Heath Crescent, an assessment of the ground conditions at the St. Clair access point, and work on the Avoca master plan itself.

As this work gathers momentum, the Midtown Ravines Group will advocate for effective communications with local residents and other stakeholders, and will contribute to public consultations to guide the future plans for the ravine. Stay tuned for news of community consultation events that are currently being planned for late summer and early fall. Your input will help to ensure that plans for the ravine safeguard this natural midtown treasure for the benefit of future generations.

For additional details, please see the full update article.

A July dog-walking detour to check out Yellow Creek.

This is what we're hearing from you

The success of plans for the future of the Vale of Avoca will depend on mobilizing robust input from the community -- both nearby and farther afield --and from other interested stakeholders. Thank you to everyone who has shared their views with us so far. In our last newsletter we provided a survey looking at why people visit the ravine and asking for comments on a draft community vision statement for the Vale.

Our website has a summary of recent comments we've received on why people visit the Avoca ravine, and on what values stand out as goals to guide future plans for the ravine. There will be an ongoing process of engagement to refine the answers to these and other questions, ensuring that plans for the ravine have a solid foundation of shared views core values and an understanding of how to reconcile differences of opinions on some issues. And results of our recent survey may -- or may not -- settle the question of what is the very best season for visiting the Vale.

It's never too late to have your say; please will take a few minutes to complete our July survey. We also hope you will participate in public consultation activities being planned for early fall.

Take the Avoca July 2026 Community Survey!

A large and growing infestation of Phragmites reeds on the right side of the trail is now eyeing the banks of Yellow Creek across the path.

Phragmites are on the move!

Please see the story on the Vale of Avoca website to learn about the Vale's growing Phragmites problem (pronounced frag-MY-teez). This is a highly disruptive plant that takes over areas by outcompeting native plants due to its rapid reproduction -- by both seed and rhizome -- and because it does not support local pollinators and herbivores (not enough nutrients and too tough).

This Phragmites colony is very well entrenched, will be hard to get rid of, and is likely to continue to spread. Worse still, some young shoots have now appeared on the west side of the trail. The Midtown Ravines Group will continue to advocate with the City for proactive management of the Avoca Environmentally Significant Area (ESA), with a particular emphasis on ensuring that the spread of Phragmites is contained and eventually reversed.

The Vale of Avoca's Reservoir Park in 1912 (Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library)

Take a trip back to the Vale of yesteryear

Here is a 1912 photograph of the Reservoir Park from the Toronto Public Library’s digital archive. The photograph’s caption reads Reservoir Park, west of Mount Pleasant Road, s. from n. of St. Clair Ave. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Reservoir Park was situated in the Vale of Avoca ravine, just below the Rosehill Reservoir.

The official caption may be misleading for a couple of reasons: the width of the ravine seems more consistent with the southern half of the Vale, and that bridge looks a bit different even from the old Moore Park bridge. The bridge in the photo may in fact be the precursor to today’s concrete railway bridge. Please let us know if you can identify this location.

Volunteer stewards with one morning's harvest of invasive garlic mustard, seeds and all. (Photo: Toronto Nature Stewards)

Avoca stewardship project is already making a difference

For anyone concerned about the Vale of Avoca, there’s no need to wait for the completion of the master plan, important though that is. Last month community volunteers got to work on ecological stewardship of the ravine through a continuing project sponsored jointly by the Midtown Ravines Group and Toronto Nature Stewards.

Weekly stewardship sessions will initially focus on reining in the spread of invasives, working in the southern section of David Balfour Park (the flat section close to the Roxborough/Mount Pleasant intersection). The group has already had an impact on the park through removal of significant amounts of garlic mustard and dog-strangling vine.

There’s a lot more work to do, including the deployment of Extractigators to curtail the spread of common buckthorn. Planting native varieties to fill the spots left by some of these invasives will also be included in the stewardship program. Ecological stewardship is a great way to make a difference, while spending time outside and getting to know other volunteers from across the community. We hope you'll join us!

Ask about Avoca stewardship

Participants in the plant and tree surveys talking shop on the Avoca access trail. (Photo: Midtown Ravines Group)

Studies of ravine plant communities are underway

Two studies of ravine vegetation communities are currently underway that will provide important information for subsequent efforts to remediate ecological conditions in the Vale of Avoca.

One of the studies is being directed by Urban Forest Associates (UFORA), and is putting two University of Toronto forestry graduate students to work for the summer. The other study is being conducted by a team of arborists from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).

You can learn more about these two ecological surveys on MRG's Vale of Avoca website.

If you see either of these teams hard at work in the ravine, be sure to show your appreciation for their diligent efforts!

Midtown Ravines Monitor

Continuing work on the new ramp connecting the Lower Don Trail with the Riverdale pedestrian bridge over the Don River. (Photo: Midtown Ravines Group)

Lower Don Trail improvements are nearing completion

On the Midtown Ravines website, we are keeping tabs on progress towards reopening of the Lower Don Trail improvement project. It seems to be getting close to when the trail will be fully open between Pottery Road and Corktown, having been closed since 2023.

Cross this bridge and discover the new East Don Trail! This entry point is located near the Forks of the Don next to the entry to Taylor Creek Park. (Photo: Midtown Ravines Group)

The East Don Trail beckons

Phase 1 of the East Don Trail is now open! The trail runs beside the East Don River, from the Forks of the Don northward to a point on Bermondsey Road just south of Eglinton, covering a distance of 3km.

On Monday, July 12th, dignitaries, city staff, and members of the public gathered for the official opening of this trail.

Have your say on the future of Billy Bishop Airport

Although the island airport is neither in midtown nor in a ravine, its future is a matter of great interest to all of us. Please take some time to participate in the public consultation on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The consultation is open until July 24.

If you have more to say than the survey allows, you can also send an email to this address: airportspolicy-politiquedesaeroports@tc.gc.ca as well as to your local federal and/or provincial representatives.

Upcoming Events

Mud Creek/Brick Works Inlet Project: On-site talk & tour

Do you remember the big storm and flooding of July 2024, and how Mud Creek inundated the Brick Works? As a result, substantial work was needed to repair and upgrade the conduit connecting Mud Creek with the wetlands below. The permanent restoration of the inlet to the Brick Works wetlands complex was carried out between September 2025 and April 2026. The continuing presence of heavy construction machinery on the Beltline trail spoke to the significance of that work.

The project team that managed this restoration work has agreed to provide a site tour and talk about what the project involved, and the challenges of ensuring that critical infrastructure is resilient against the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather. We will also hear about related project elements, and what the Brick Works turtle community thinks about all this.

Date: Tuesday, July 28 at 10 to 11 a.m.

Where: Meet at the base of the Chorley Park Switchback

This will be an informal and interactive session, so come along with your questions about managing storm water flows in a city with lots of ravines.

There are any number of ways to get involved with the Midtown Ravines Group, or with the Vale of Avoca project specifically. We welcome your participation on issues relating to the condition of our ravines, planning events, doing research, and assisting with our communications and social media activities. Please contact us if you would like to get involved.

We also hope you will share this newsletter with friends and neighbours who might have an interest in preserving our wonderful midtown ravines.

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PO Box 69013 Toronto
St. Clair PO
Toronto, Ontario, M4T 3A1
Canada