In-Congress Tours

Niagara Peninsula – “Ontario’s Fruit Belt”: This tour would take participants on a one-day adventure through the Wine Appellations of the Niagara Peninsula. It would showcase how the diversity of soils in the region and the climatic regulation by the Niagara Escarpment are drivers of that region’s specialty crop industry. Travelling along the elevational gradient from the south shore of Lake Ontario to the top of the Niagara Escarpment, the tour would include stops  at tender-fruit orchards, vineyards, and award-winning wineries. The day would be capped with a visit to the world-famous Niagara Falls. 

Holland Marsh – “Ontario’s Vegetable Patch”: This tour would take participants to a unique vegetable-producing area, located an hour northwest of Toronto. The Holland Marsh is an important source for fresh vegetables in Ontario. The soils are almost exclusively organic soils (Humisols) which have been artificially drained. Dikes protect the marsh from flooding, a central canal drains much of the marsh, and the outlet is outfitted with a pump system to regulate water table levels. The tour would visit sites to discuss organic soils, the subsidence and depletion of the organic deposit, agricultural management, as well as crop rotations and nutrient management, with an emphasis on phosphorus, linked to water quality issues in the nearby Lake Simcoe.

Grand River Watershed – “Agroforestry and More”: The Grand River Watershed, covering nearly 7,000 km2, is the largest in southern Ontario. Home to nearly 1 million people, it is also intensively farmed, with agriculture accounting for 70% of the land use. The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has a decades-long history of working with private landowners and agricultural organizations, to promote stewardship practices to conserve soil and water resources. In 2000, the GRCA was awarded the prestigious Thiess International Riverprize, recognizing outstanding achievement in river management and innovations in science, technology, planning, policy, and stakeholder partnerships. This tour would showcase the implementation of best management practices to improve soil health and protect water quality for downstream users, including riparian stream buffers, farms using BMPs (best management practices) to improve soil resilience to extreme weather events, and windbreaks to protect soils from wind erosion. 

Toronto Urban Soils – “The Soils that We Live On”: The reduction of risk to life and property from flooding and water erosion is one of the core mandates under the Conservation Authorities Act, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) upholds this mandate through the coordination of multiple core programs. TRCA’s Erosion Risk Management Program specifically seeks to fulfill this mandate through its ongoing identification and remediation of water erosion hazards throughout their jurisdiction, and by encouraging proactive prevention, protection, and management of erosion issues on private and public property. Participants on this tour would visit several restoration sites, within the Greater Toronto Area, to learn about the challenges and successes, the techniques and the tools required to restore protection of infrastructure and property while enhancing local ecosystem and habitat functions. Special attention would be given to Anthroposols, reflecting the increasing prevalence of soils profoundly impacted by human activities, and the unique rehabilitation and management strategies they require.