Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

OVERVIEW

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FACI L I T I ES AND GROUNDS

Don River can become a clear source of drinking water for all of Toronto’s residents, rich in wildlife, plant and aquatic diversity, as it was in the time of the Iroquoian people of the late Woodland period (900-1550 A.D.). We are equally committed to the possibility that healthy, clean water can coexist with the needs of a twenty-first century population. The Institute launched the project with Stream of Consciousness, an installation created by artist and teacher Sarah Britton. Its most dramatic feature was the “blue fabric draped from the ceiling and along the halls to represent the flow of t he [b]rook from the school to the lake, and to illustrate Havergal’s connection to the water shared by all residents of the City of Toronto.” ( Torch , Spring 2008).

Havergal also showed its renewed commitment to environmental stewardship by signing the Don Accord, a project of the Don Watershed Regeneration Council, which was established in 1994 by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) with, according to the TCRA, “a mandate to implement Forty Steps to a New Don and act as a link among governments, interested citizens, and members of the general public.” A further step was taken in 1997, when the school commissioned an exhaustive tree inventory. In 2006, as interest in and concern about the city’s ravine system grew, Havergal’s Board of Governors again demonstrated its support for the prodigious efforts of the Hardie family when it committed to the Burke Brook Stewardship Project, which became the first undertaking of The Institute at Havergal and, ultimately, a school-wide collaboration. The project was approved by the City of Toronto and the TRCA, and Havergal was fortunate in enlisting the support of Citizens Environment Watch and Trees Ontario. Ann Peel, The Institute’s inaugural director, quoted by Wendy Reid in “Safeguarding the future: Sustainability at Havergal” in the Spring 2008 Torch , explained Havergal’s comprehensive vision: We will develop a ravine stewardship plan that sets goals and identifies how we intend to approach our vision now and over the long term. Our goals include educating ourselves about this part of our property and its connection to the water supply of the City of Toronto, reviving the natural landscape and improving species diversity … We are committed to the possibility that the

“The Institute at Havergal: The Burke Brook Stewardship Project” Torch , Spring 2008

Earth Day 1998

Grade 2 Students on Earth Day

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