In the densely populated cities and suburbs of southern Ontario, the idea of finding a slice of nature to set aside for conservation can seem impossibly difficult.
Urban and suburban boundaries sprawl out ever further, bumping into natural spaces as the population grows. Developers and environmentalists, meanwhile, spar over the fragmented green space that remains.
But there are conservation opportunities just waiting to be unlocked, says the Southern Ontario Nature Coalition (SONC), a group of environmental, Indigenous and agricultural groups. The key, SONC outlines in a new plan for a near-urban nature network, is to think beyond traditional ideas like provincial parks and start looking to private landowners and Indigenous communities as stewards of the land.