TORONTO, September 29, 2026 – On September 27, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) hosted Graze The Meadoway at Thomson Memorial Park in Scarborough, bringing community members together to experience a targeted grazing research project underway at The Meadoway. Visitors watched about 80 goats and sheep at work and learned how grazing could help restore and maintain meadow habitat.
The seven-day grazing trial is taking place in a 1.2 hectare restored meadow, where TRCA is testing how targeted grazing affects meadow health and how it compares with current management approaches.
Graze The Meadoway gave community members a firsthand look at this approach to caring for urban meadows, a chance to talk with TRCA experts, and learn more about the restoration work helping shape public spaces close to home.
Natural disturbances such as fire, flooding, and grazing can help keep meadow ecosystems healthy and support plant biodiversity. Prescribed burning is not feasible within The Meadoway’s utility corridor currently, so targeted grazing offers a way to mimic some of these natural ecological processes.
The project includes 13 treatment plots testing different levels of goat and sheep grazing, alongside plots managed using conventional equipment and other meadow maintenance methods. Researchers are monitoring all plots to assess how different approaches impact meadow vegetation and habitat conditions.
Results will help shape future restoration and maintenance strategies across The Meadoway. With more than 100 hectares of meadow established to date across 16 kilometres of utility corridor, finding sustainable maintenance practices will be critical to its long-term success.
This trial will help TRCA evaluate whether targeted grazing can be scaled to manage larger sections of the corridor and provide a cost-effective, ecological alternative to meadow maintenance.
The grazing trial was made possible through the generous support of the Weston Family Foundation.
Quotes:
“Innovation often comes from adapting proven approaches to address new challenges. This project is testing how targeted grazing, a well-established land management practice, can support healthy, resilient meadow ecosystems in the heart of a city.”
– Christian Bauta, Chair of the Weston Family Foundation
“Maintaining more than 100 hectares of restored meadow across The Meadoway requires us to look at different ways of managing these landscapes over the long term. Targeted grazing gives us an opportunity to test an approach that works with natural ecological processes while reducing reliance on conventional maintenance methods. We’re grateful to the Weston Family Foundation for supporting this research and helping us explore practical solutions for the long-term care of The Meadoway.”
– John MacKenzie, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
About Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Since 1957, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as enabled through the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, has taken action to enhance our region’s natural environment and protect our land, water, and communities from the impacts of flooding and increasingly extreme weather events – Ontario’s leading cause of public emergencies.
As the region’s first line of defence against natural hazards, TRCA maintains vital infrastructure and provides programs and services that promote public health and safety, protecting people and property. TRCA mobilizes a science-based approach to provide sound policy advice, leveraging its position as a not-for-profit operating in the broader public sector to achieve collective impacts within our communities and across all levels of government.
TRCA’s dedication to its employees and sustainability has earned it recognition as both one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers and one of Canada’s Greenest Employers. These distinctions, along with its Certificate of Recognition (COR) certification for health and safety, highlight TRCA’s commitment to fostering a supportive, innovative, safe, and environmentally responsible workplace – dedicated to driving meaningful change and create lasting positive impacts in the communities it serves.
TRCA’s jurisdiction includes nine watersheds and their Lake Ontario shorelines, spanning six upper-tier and fifteen lower-tier municipalities and representing over five million people, over 12% of Canada’s population.
To learn more about TRCA, visit trca.ca.
Media Contact
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Afiya Jilani
Specialist, Communication and Media Relations
Communications, Marketing and Events
afiya.jilani@trca.ca
media@trca.ca