Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – On Sunday, August 25th, community members will take part in a protest and family-friendly activity ‘rolled’ into one: a bike ride and chalk walk along the Humber River Recreational Trail to raise awareness about the potential impacts of Highway 413.
Donning shades of blue and carrying images of the endangered Redside Dace that calls the Humber River home, a school of concerned GTA residents will start at Étienne Brûlé Park and make their way up the Humber River Recreational trail stopping to chalk messages advocating for the protection of the river as they go.
Event Details:
WHAT: Walk, Bike and Chalk to Save the Humber
WHEN: Sunday, August 25, 2024, 9:45 am
WHERE: Group will meet and depart from Étienne Brûlé Park, 10 Catherine St. Toronto, Ontario
Background Information:
- This event is a part of Environmental Defence’s Hands off the Humber campaign that aims to raise awareness of the negative impacts the proposed Highway 413 will have on the Humber River watershed.
- In 2018, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority declared surface water quality and forest conditions to be ‘poor’ in the southern parts of the Humber River watershed.
- The proposed route of Highway 413 will cut straight through the Humber’s pristine headwaters in Caledon and York Region bringing with it more concrete, more pollution and more sprawl.
- Highway 413 could be the tipping point for the population of the Redside dace, a federally endangered species. If constructed, the highway will destroy over 65 per cent of the dace’s remaining habitat.
- The decline of Redside dace populations in the Humber River watershed demonstrates a much broader concern surrounding the health of local waterways and the quality of the environment in Southern Ontario.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
