The East York-Riverdale Mirror

The snow was that special kind that sticks to everything, turning trees and bushes into white sculptures of abstract shapes and forms.

A particularly special spot for viewing this wonderful event is the Wildflower Preserve located on the site, which covers nine hectares of the original Don River watercourse.

Back when the Don Valley Parkway was constructed in the late 1950s, the river was diverted to make room for the road, leaving the remnant to be filled with natural water from rain and underground springs, which you can see flowing under the bridge leading to the museum's parking lot.

In 1991, Charles Sauriol, the man who saved Todmorden Mills from demolition and promoted the environmental conservation of the Don Valley, initiated the establishment of the Wildflower Preserve, along with Dave Money, past president of the Ontario Horticulture Association.

Today the site has a well marked and maintained half-kilometre path that takes you through the preserve, past an oxbow of the old Don and small ponds and marsh that are the remnants of the river.

Walking through the site on a snowy day transports you back in time to when the Don Valley was rustic and rural, with only the swoosh of cars in the distance reminding you of the city.

However, the real splendor of the site comes into being each spring, when the cycle of renewal begins with the sprouting of green leaves and flowers.

We are about to see this new cycle once again thanks to the return of warmer weather and spring showers, and thanks to the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers, you too can enjoy the first blooms of spring.

On Saturday, April 12 you can learn more about the Wildflower Preserve by helping clean it up and be rewarded with a free barbecue lunch (with a vegetarian option).

Working in partnership with the Friends of the Don East, the volunteers of the Todmorden Mills Wildflower Preserve will co-ordinate the removal of the garbage from the area and do some ground work.

Please come properly dressed for the type of work, which will take place from 10 a.m. to noon (rain or shine), after which lunch will begin.

If you find that you enjoy this type of volunteer work, you may wish to join either the Friends of the Don East or the Wildflower Preserve in order to help out during the remainder of the spring and summer.

Both groups offer a range of roles, from simply being supportive to running the organization, so any type of circumstance or lifestyle can be accommodated.

The heritage of the Don Valley is everyone's legacy, so please come out and enjoy it in all its splendor, as Charles Sauriol would have wished us to do.