Glen Stewart Ravine

[Northern Light]

Photos taken March 29, 2021:

We'll start our tour at the top of the stairs as they descend from Kingston Road:

This is a long set of stairs:

Here, we continue to see the stairs, but also the pathway at the ravine bottom; to the right are some native Hemlock trees planted by Urban Forestry as part of on going restoration works:

The green dot on this tree (an Oak) is generally indicative of something having been done to the tree to help it. You often see this when Ash trees are vaccinated against the borer.

But in this case, the Oak tree was being given a hand to deal with Fall Canker Worm:

As we arrive at the base of the stairs, there is a small brook which forks there, along with the path, one branch going to Kingston Rd, the other to the east and Beech Avenue.

This is a look up the branch heading to Beech:

Same as above, but focused on the brook, not the path:

Now we're looking south, along the brook, running parallel to Glen Manor Drive:

Want to know how much damage a falling tree can do?

Well, this one fell over:

As you can see, it made 'an impression' on the metal guard rails of this little bridge:

Now, another look at the brook as we continue southward: (you'll note a few leaves still on trees, Beeches, Ironwoods and Oaks often hold their leaves through winter)

Here, a lengthy boardwalk begins, this helps keep people out of the muck, as the valley bottom here is narrow and wet, it also reduces erosion from people not scrambling to dryer, higher ground:

This little brook originates over by Balsam Avenue:

To be con't

 

[Northern Light]

Con't from above:

This staircase takes you up to Balsam Avenue:

The Boardwalk continues on towards the southern terminus of the fully intact ravine, and where the brook disappears into a pipe:

Here, the water disappears:

The interpretive signage as we exit the (intact) ravine:

But this brook once made it to the Lake.......and we can see the evidence:

This area is remnant ravine, enveloped by Glen Manor Drive on both sides.

The brook remains underneath this area, in a pipe. I would love to see it daylighted one day, at least in the area north of the pedestrian bridge.

This is the bridge across the remnant ravine section, linking both sides of Glen Manor Road:

This is the view northward from said bridge, at the area we just saw 2 photos above, the slopes were reforested a few years ago (they used to be mowed)

This is the view to the south, there was also some restoration here, but a baby toboggan hill remains for area kids, as does open space further south which is flooded as an ice rink each winter.

Still further south, the ravine shifts to the west of a reunited Glen Manor Road, and has a lit pathway through Ivan Forrest Gardens:

Nothing particularly natural about this segment, with most plants being garden/landscape/ornamental. To my understanding, the brook is in a pipe under this space as well:

Below looks backwards (north) the middle of the park:

All evidence of the ravine disappears at Queen; though somewhere underneath today's built form (may go under the road, ROW, I'm uncertain), that pipe brings water out to the Lake.

From Lost Rivers website, we see what the extent of this creek used to be; the northern leg (north of Kingston Road) disappeared into pipes in the 19th Century; while the leg south of Queen didn't disappear until ~1937