An Urban Breathing Space: Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto

27 July 2012

A wonderfully creative and sustainable use of retired industrial land in the city, the Evergreen Brick Works is an extraordinary community environmental centre located on the site of the former Don Valley Brick Works (1889-1980′s) which produced many of the bricks that built Toronto. Old and new is beautifully integrated, creating an eclectic and vibrant space that makes full use of its central location on a swath of green space along the Don Valley ravine that runs through Toronto.

If you arrive on a Saturday you will find a bustling farmers market, selling local seasonal food, and buzzing with the energy of creative and interesting people. We brought home some fresh fish, garlic scapes, new potatoes, swiss chard and multicoloured heirloom carrots, which were all put to good use.
An interesting little shelter where you can wait for a bus or a free shuttle to take you to the subway system for a convenient commute. Note the industrial pieces on the ceiling re-purposed as integrated art.

A central garden space showing both new and old buildings.

Above: A small section of the children’s garden. There are children’s day camps that run out of some of the buildings.

The open rafter area inside this building above, marks the Koerner Gardens, which are planted with native species. There is also a garden shop where you can learn about, and purchase, native plantings and many other products.

The large artwork on this wall is called Watershed Consciousness and was created by artist Ferruccio Sardella. It represents a map of the rivers that flow through the city and gently flows with water itself to sustain the plants tucked into the crevices that mark the waterways. The structural metalwork acts as a support for the both the building and the artwork.

Much of the old graffiti has been left on the surfaces and somehow it adds to the dynamic community feel of the site.

The interior space of Koerner Gardens. In the winter this area is transformed into a skating rink where you can wind your way around the raised beds under the open rafters. The skating rink is equipped with a refrigeration system and the waste heat produced from this system is directed to heat the adjoining cafe.

An image of what the clay and shale quarry used to look like before it was filled with water and turned into a vital habitat for native flora and fauna.
Below: A cross-section representation of the rock layers found in the quarry.

You just have to turn away from the buildings to see what is, essentially, the back garden to the Brick Works. A green space so vast that it’s hard to image you are in a huge city. There are winding walking trails within the 40 acre site that take you to lovely ponds, boardwalks and sitting areas. And beyond that the continuation of the ravine system and its huge network of paths.

There are many interesting businesses, events and features within the Evergreen Brick Works that I haven’t even touched on here. If you are interested in more information you can visit their website here: www.ebw.evergreen.ca

All images © Karen McRae

East to West

30 June 2012

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Tomorrow, the first of July, we celebrate Canada Day and I was thinking about how fortunate I have been to recently travel to both the east and west coasts. It’s an expansive, diverse, and beautiful country, and I am grateful to live here.

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, and if you live south of the border, happy Fourth of July!

Boundary Bay, British Columbia

A silky Cape Breton sky.

Cape Breton bog flora. Below: Pitcher plants

All images © Karen McRae

Okanagan Dusk & Dawn

23 June 2012

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Since posting these images I have done a little research and found out that this sturdy looking boat has the eloquent name CN No.6 Tug. There is an interesting write-up about the tugboat here.

The Romp by sculptor Chong Fahcheong

Photographs from the Lake Okanagan waterfront in Penticton, BC

All images © Karen McRae

Illumination

21 June 2012

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Looking out to Okanagan Lake and the surrounding landscape from the Penticton shoreline

We actually traveled to Penticton from Vancouver to go rock climbing at the Skaha Bluffs. Unfortunately, we hit the rainiest week of the year. The Okanagan area is high mountain desert and typically gets low rainfall. We did manage a few days of climbing and fortunately, it is also wine country.
Looking down on the vineyards along the beautiful Naramata Bench

All images © Karen McRae

Departure

19 June 2012

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Yesterday evening I returned home from more than two weeks in British Columbia. I was fortunate to have the window seat during the departing flight from Vancouver and managed a few quick shots of the rhythmic landscape of low tide.

If it seems as though I’m starting my journey at the end, I suppose I am. The last glimpses of land before a largely cloud-covered flight home. This departure is also a starting point. (Sometimes I read magazines backwards, too…)

All images © Karen McRae

Sea Jellies

1 June 2012

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Back to the Atlantic, and the tiny jellyfish off the Cape Breton coast. And I do mean tiny. The biggest one pictured here, being just over an inch big. To someone like myself, who lives far inland they do seem rather exotic and fascinating. They way they pulse and flow around in the water and the seemingly endless forms. I spent quite a bit of time observing them, and photographing them, using a macro lens. Scooping them into a white bucket and then returning them to the sea. Some, almost invisible, and no bigger than my smallest fingernail. Elegant creatures of grace.
It’s hard to imagine how such delicate soft-bodied creatures as jellyfish could end up on the fossil record but there are some examples. If, like me, you have an interest in fossils, you may want to check out this blog entry: Eternal Jellies in the World Ocean on Graham Young’s blog, Ancient Shore.

A young Pelagia (mauve stinger) jellyfish, just over an inch across.
You may have noticed there is a tiny crustacean (possibly an amphipod) hanging out the young Pelagia pictured above. Whatever it is, it had itself firmly attached.

Above:A small juvenile of the moon jelly, Aurelia

Above: Hydromedusae Aglantha
Below: A barely there Aglantha in disguise.

An adult Halitholus above and a juvenile below.

Comb jelly Pleurobrachia (Sea Gooseberry)
A comb jelly accompanied by a Tiaropsis on the right.
There were thousands of these tiny jellyfish near the shoreline. Tiaropsis, leptomedusan hydrozoanin.
*If any of these sea jellies appear to be identified incorrectly, please feel free to contact me.

It seems I’ve been away from the ocean for too long. There’s always the Pacific…
See you in a couple of weeks!

All images © Karen McRae, 2012

Five a.m. on the Wharf: Lobster Fishing in Cape Breton

28 May 2012

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During my recent trip to Cape Breton I had the opportunity to go out on a lobster boat several times. The lobster fishing season in this particular area of Cape Breton runs from May 1st to the end of June. Generally, the boat leaves the wharf at 5:00 a.m.!
Above:Lobster boats in Petit De Grat being prepared for the fishing season.
Below: A private wharf in Arichat loaded with lobster traps.

The first day out involves setting all the traps in place. The crew of the boat I was on set 250 traps for the season.

The traps have long ropes and buoys attached allowing the traps to go to the bottom with the buoys marking them for daily retrieval. Each fishing boat has its own unique buoy style. Below: a buoy trailing behind the boat.

This fisherman has been lobster fishing in this area for over 55 years.

The gaff is a long stick with a hook on the end and it’s used for catching the rope and buoy so the traps can be pulled up for emptying each day. The rope then goes into a hydraulic pulley system that raises the heavy trap.

Baiting and banding stations. The strong claws of the lobster are secured with rubber bands otherwise they will grab hold of anything, especially fingers!

A knife wielding lobster.

There are strict rules about the size and condition of lobsters that can be kept. Female lobsters with eggs have to be returned to the sea; as do unhappy looking codfish that accidentally get caught in the traps.

Some seagulls like to hitch a ride on the boat.

When fresh bait is put in the traps, the seagulls, very willingly, take care of the old bait as it is thrown overboard!

A big thank you to the wonderful crew of the Della & Donna!

In and Around The Cabot Trail

22 May 2012

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The Cabot Trail is a winding scenic drive along the coast and through the highlands of north-east Cape Breton. Even though it was quite early spring when we were there at the beginning of May, and the day went from sunny to grey rather quickly, the majesty of the highlands was breathtaking. One of the upsides of traveling in the off-season is getting to experience each place without the buzz of the tourist season. We practically had the road and the beaches to ourselves.

If I were to travel here in the summer it would definitely be a camping destination. Perhaps at Meat Cove, on top of a windy cliff overlooking the Bay of St. Lawrence where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

A tufted sand dune at Inverness Beach, looking out into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
The Inverness Beach and the breakwater on the horizon.

One of several gorgeous cobble and sandy beaches along the coast.

A young male moose stopping to feed at a pond. Note the missing antlers which are shed each fall and regrow in the spring.
Much of the interior of the highlands look like this with miles of rolling tree covered hills and valleys.

A view from above Meat Cove and the velvety looking reddish beach below. Meat Cove is the most northern community in Cape Breton and lies at the end of a winding and sometimes steep road. You have to travel several kilometers off the Cabot Trail to get here, but it’s well worth the trek for a visit.

The boulder scattered beach at Black Brook Cove.

All images © Karen McRae

Connections, Disconnections

20 May 2012

50 Comments

Cape Breton: The Island That Almost Isn’t an Island

The Strait of Canso lies between mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. In 1954 over 10 million tonnes of rock were used to build a causeway connecting the island to the mainland. This snaking rock wall is 65 metres deep in places, making it the deepest causeway in the world. There is a canal that allows ship traffic to pass through. If this remaining thread of water wasn’t here, Cape Breton would really, no longer be a true island.

I am struck by the simultaneous connection, and disconnection, of such engineering. On one hand, a community has been bridged. On the other, a community shut out. A safe harbour has been built. But also, an impasse. We are nothing, if not a contradictory species.

These images really, have little to do with what I have written about here, except that they make me think of how we impact our environment. Of how I impact our environment. They make me think of what gets left behind. What could be left behind. They make me want to tread a little lighter on this intriguing planet.

The above 3 images are of a decaying Pilot Whale, washed up onto a Cape Breton beach.

This large engine, is reportedly from an old steamship wreck, I was unable to find any other information about it.

It is doing it’s best to blend into the environment…

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

*If you are interested in reading more about the environmental effects of blocking the Strait of Canso, there is some interesting reading here, here and here.

Cape Breton: Textural Diversity of the Shoreline

16 May 2012

48 Comments

There are many tucked away cobble and sandy beaches between the rocky outcroppings along the shorelines of Isle Madame. A visual feast of shifting textural beauty.

Sadly, the lighthouses are being decommissioned and are slowly disappearing off the island, replaced by lit channel markers.
A beautiful vista with a coastguard boat far off in the distance.

The view at the trailhead of the Cap Auget Eco-Trail on Isle Madame.

A velvety hidden-away beach, not easily accessible.
This lobster fishing boat was accidentally run aground on a sandbar. It returned to service at high tide the following day.