Mississauga’s New Green Space Revives Waterfront Area

A new waterfront conservation area that has been in development for over ten years is set to open in Mississauga at the end of this month.

Officials say the Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area has turned a rundown industrial part of the waterfront into a large green space. It’s named after Jim Tovey, a former Mississauga councillor who was dedicated to environmental protection.

This conservation area spans 26 hectares and is situated along Mississauga’s eastern shoreline next to the developing mixed-use community of Lakeview Village. It will be accessible to the public starting May 30.

Stephen Dasko, Mississauga city councillor for Ward 1, explained that the area was created by relocating clean excess soil and construction debris from various sites around Peel Region to where there used to be a coal-fired power plant.

“We wanted to take what was an industrial area where the waterfront really had been abused for decades and turn it back into something clean, green and sustainable,” Dasko said.

“Quite frankly, this should be the standard of what we should encourage others to do to embrace nature and the environment,” he added. “Instead of really cannibalizing our waterfront, we’re embracing our waterfront, welcoming the public here and having people learn as well.”

Stephen Dasko, Mississauga city councillor for Ward 1, says: ‘We wanted to take what was an industrial area where the waterfront really had been abused for decades and turn it back into something clean, green and sustainable.’ (Talia Ricci/CBC)

Dasko noted that teaching areas were also incorporated into the conservation site in partnership with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

The location features a system of trails, boardwalks, lookouts, and gathering spots, including an Indigenous Teaching Amphitheatre. The conservation area carries an Indigenous theme throughout its landscape, he mentioned.

Credit Valley Conservation, which oversees projects in the Credit River watershed along with Peel Region and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority collaborated on this $60-million initiative.

Manager Says Area Will ‘Reconnect People With Nature’

Scott Cafarella, manager of capital projects at Credit Valley Conservation stated that this new space connects Marie Curtis Park in Toronto with Lakeview Village in Mississauga while restoring part of the shoreline.

The project includes a 170-metre boardwalk alongside 1.9 kilometres of new trail for both pedestrians and cyclists as well as another 1.8 kilometres dedicated solely for pedestrians.

“It’s just a great way to bring people back to nature, bring them back to the shoreline where access didn’t exist before,” Cafarella said.

Cafarella mentioned one major attraction is watching wildlife thrive in their natural habitat again.

“We’ve seen so many birds and animals and fish come back and claim the space already,” he said.

“At this scale, bringing such restoration back to Mississauga’s shoreline is truly a generational project.”

Scott Cafarella, manager of capital projects at Credit Valley Conservation, says: ‘We’ve seen so many birds and animals and fish come back claiming the space already.’ (Talia Ricci/CBC)

The area now includes three newly created wetlands along with five hectares designated as forest land and another five hectares as meadowland according to Freyja Whitten, program manager for terrestrial restoration at Credit Valley Conservation.

“I think there’s been lots of new species coming in which is great to see,” Whitten remarked while noting that there are beavers as well as some long-term residents like birds and coyotes present in the region.

Her team has been actively planting trees and shrubs aimed at creating future forests while managing invasive species and sowing native seeds across various areas expected to become natural habitats over time.

“I think one thing that’s most exciting is realizing that ten years ago where we’re standing would have been part of Lake Ontario,” Whitten explained. “So new habitat means new features.”

According to Credit Valley Conservation , the conservation area was established on the former bed of Lake Ontario through a “lake-fill project”and resides within-the Head-of-the-Lake Treaty lands belonging-to-the-Mississaugas-of-the-Credit-First-Nation.

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