Photo: Carlos Osorio
The Leslie Spit that juts out five kilometers into Lake Ontario was once home to fish and wildlife, as well as the Indigenous nations who inhabited the area such as the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, and the Chippewa. But in the 1900s, the land became a dumping ground for settlers. The area would soon be rediscovered by birds, and in the 1970s, the city of Ontario asked conservation authorities to transform the grounds into Tommy Thompson Park. "In North America’s fourth largest city, to be able to replace lost habitat, in the place where it was lost originally, is unheard of," says Andrea Chreston, manager of the Tommy Thompson project. The place is now teeming with wildlife as did centuries ago. Sparrows, warblers, geese, and cormorants fill the air with their birdsongs. Staff at the park work to prevent invasive species from taking root, while members of the bird research station monitor bird populations.
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