Ukrainian Canadian Memorial Park

North of Eglinton Avenue and East of Scarlett Road you will enter into a beautiful Toronto park that is dedicated to the Canadians of Ukrainian origin who served in the Military.

You'll know you are in the right place when you see a monument dedicated in honour of them at the entrance of the trail.  The epitaph is etched in Ukraine adorned with floral wreaths at the base.  

As you walk (or jog, or ride your bike) down the winding trail you'll get some brief relief in a shaded woodland which has its own little waterfall.  It's really more of a watershed, but we climbed down to take a shot anyways, never missing an opportunity to photo shoot a waterfall.

Surrounded by trees and street graffiti, this was a photo waiting to happen.  Climbed up to continue the trail through the park heading north.  Several winding trails cutting through fields of green, perfect for picnics and kite flying.  

Another waterfall drop, just a few metres ahead which is one of many along the Humber River.  Plenty of geese flock together rushing for the water as I zoom in to listen in on their daily chatter.

The Ukrainians have a rich culture in Toronto, as do many other heritages here.  There is a Ukrainian Cultural Centre located in Toronto on Christie Street which is the hosts of many of their events.  The "Christie" as is dubbed is a particular area in Toronto that is the heart of the Ukrainian community bringing together people with a common culture to share important ideas and keep their heritage alive.  
 
Carrying on further north along the Humber are some historical news up ahead on my next post.

Rowntree Mills Park

Rowntree Mills Park is a very lovely portion of the Humber River Valley between Kipling and Islington Avenues.  The river winds its way under foot bridges and parallel along tree-lined trails and ends up in Lake Ontario.

There are some very lovely large green spaces in this park areas as well which would be great for family picnics or large corporate gatherings or fundraising events.  In fact you would think you would see tons of activity here on weekends.  Not quite.  You see in 2009 a City councillor had closed off this park from cars due to criminal activity and rowdy parties.  This decision was a difficult one, but the idea to reverse this decision is not coming anytime soon either.

However, there are some positive sides to having no motor traffic in a park.  For instance, as you make your way deeper into the park you will find more exclusionary places for some peace of mind.

You can still get here on foot or bicycle and some have witnessed deer sightings here.   I spotted a raccoon hiding out in a little spot under some bushes.  He (or she) appeared wet which I thought was strange as he was no where near any water, so figured he may have been injured.  I happen to find raccoons adorable as opposed to being pests, and finding a baby one was neat.  I was told to not go near it though and he didn't seem to be all that interested in having any personal human contact either. 

Rowntree Mills Park, like Raymore Park was damaged by massive flooding caused by Hurricane Hazel in 1954.  Today, there are some very large remnants of that damage including large chunks of cement that remain here as a reminder.

Although the park is closed off to cars of the general public, vehicles are still allowed in by special permit. 

One final note, historically the Rowntree Mills Park was named in the honor of Joseph Rowntree who built a sawmill on the west bank in 1843 and a grist mill on the east bank of the Humber River in 1848.  These two mills were operated until the 19th century and were knowns as the Greenholme Mills.