Bata Shoe Museum

Bata Shoe Museum

Located in Toronto, the Bata Shoe Museum is a footwear museum which collects, preserves, exhibits footwear from around the world. It makes as well multiple researches about the footwear. This museum is the only museum in North America dedicated solely to the history of footwear. The museum offers permanent and time-limited exhibitions, lectures, performances and family events.

The Bata Shoe Museum collection contains about 14,000 items from throughout history. Its collection was started by Sonja Bata in the 1940s. Sonja Bata was married to Thomas J. Bata of the Bata Shoe Company. In 1979, the Bata family established the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation. To 1994, the collection was stored at the offices of Bata Limited in the Don Mills area of Toronto. On May 6, 1995, the current museum opened its doors to the public in its building.

Bata Shoe Museum. photo by Elena

Designed by Raymond Moriyama, the structure sits on the southwest corner of Bloor and St. George Streets in downtown Toronto. Its form is derived from the idea of the museum as a container. The building also is meant to evoke an opening shoe box. The main facade (north) along Bloor Street pinches inward to where the entrance, in the form of a glass shard, emerges. The stone volume appears to float above a ribbon of glass display windows on street level, and its vast expanse of limestone glows in the late afternoon sunlight.

Raymond Moriyama said of the edifice: “Architecture is never the creation of the architect alone. The museum’s architecture should be seen as a celebration not only of shoes but also of the wonderful vision that brought them into the public eye.”

The publicly accessible part of the building consists of four stories, which contain four galleries, two lecture and multi-purpose rooms, a gift shop, and a lobby, as well as offices and conservation facilities. The gallery spaces are neutral in design, allowing focus on the creative displays, not the building itself. However, traditional materials such as cast bronze and leather (an important material in shoe creation for centuries) are used in signage throughout the museum.

General view of the museum. Photo by Elena

The permanent collection contains artifacts from virtually every culture in the world. One of the most important aspects of the museum’s holdings is an extensive collection of Native American and circumpolar footwear. The museum’s assortment of celebrity footwear includes ballroom slippers worn by Queen Victoria, the monogrammed silver platform boots of Elton John, a Terry Fox running shoe, white and blue patent loafers of Elvis Presley and John Lennon’s Beatle boot.

Address of Bata Shoe Museum:

327 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Canada

(Bloor St. and St George St. in the Bloor St. Culture Corridor)

Website of Bata Shoe Museum: www.batashoemuseum.ca

Crothers Woods

Crothers Woods

Crothers Woods is an ecologically sensitive climax beech and maple forest. These lands have been subject to over use through unregulated and high impact activities, including mountain biking. Efforts are underway to protect this ecologically sensitive area through the construction of natural barriers and development of an education program.

Crothers Woods is a unique maple-oak-beech climax forest ecosystem providing significant wildlife habitat in the heart of Toronto. Restoration efforts allowed to preserve and enhance Crothers Woods for native flora and fauna and all trail users.

Please do your part to reduce the impact on the forest ecosystem so that all trail users can enjoy the forest for years to come.

Crothers Woods Trail. You can see stones used instead of benches. Photo: Elena

Caution: Recreational trails are not maintained and can be steep and slippery. Use at your own risk. Avoid use of Crothers Woods during high winds or immediately after wind storms due to the potential for tree failure. Do not enter or cross railway corridors. Cyclists should wear helmets at all times.

Stay on the existing trails: Dogs people and bikes must stay on existing trails. Do not widen or cut new trails. Respect trail closures and do not disturb restoration areas. Using closed trails is prohibited.

Share the trail: trails are multi-use and bi-directional unless otherwise indicated. Cyclists must yield to pedestrians. Control your bike and make your approach known. Give trail users going uphill the right of way.

Control your pet: Keep dogs on-leash and on the trails at all times. Pick up after your pet. Do not allow your dog to disturb wildlife and their habitat.

Leave no trace: Avoid trail usage after rainfall. Using wet and muddy trails can lead to unnecessary trail erosion and widening that may result in long-lasting damage. Unauthorized trail work, and building or installing structures is prohibited. Do not damage or remove any vegetation – alive or dead. Keep the forest clean. Carry out what you carry in.

Get involved: Contact City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation to get involved in trail maintenance and habitat restoration projects. Encourage others to be responsible trail users.

Thank you for helping to preserve the Crothers Woods for everyone to enjoy.

Toronto treatment plant. Ecological enhancements are underway at the North Toronto Treatment Plant. These improvements will include the creation of a large wildflower meadow as well as a wetland. A variety of native plantings will also take place within and adjacent to existing natural areas in an effort to improve the structure, biodiversity and size of plant communities. Greater ecological diversity strengthens the local plant and animal communities enabling them to better cope with urban stresses such as pollution and development encroachment. Photo: © Elena

Trails and meadows. Crothers Woods trails and wetlands. Photo: © Elena

Don River in front of the woods. Photo: © Elena

A typical landscape. Photo : Elena

A frog, resident of Crothers Woods. Photo : Elena

Bushes and flowers. Photo by Elena

Evergreen Works

Evergreen Brick Works

What do you do with an abandoned 120-year-old factory hidden in the ravines at the heart of Toronto?

Reuse it. Respect it. Rediscover it. Learn from it. Teach in it. Play in it.

The Don Valley Brick Works made bricks that built Toronto. Now, these same buildings (and the new LEED Platinum building added) generates ideas and tools for building the sustainable city of the future.

Evergreen has transformed this site into an environmental centre where communities can discover how to live, work and play more sustainably. Evergreen Brick Works is a social enterprise; the money you spend supports the programs the society delivers. Explore the natural spaces. Get your hands dirty. Enjoy local food. Discover the past. Think about the future. Ask questions. Share your ideas and explore new ones. Take part in the programs and activities. Or just wander about.

Evergreen is a national Canadian not-for-profit that inspires to green cities. A national charity since 1991, Evergreen makes cities more livable by bringing people and nature together for the benefit of both.

This 12-acre industrial site is owned by the Toronto and Region conservation Authority (TRCA) and managed by the City of Toronto. Evergreen is operating the site under a 21-year lease. The TRCA and City of Toronto have contributed to the project.

Don Valley Brick Works Park trails will take you to a variety of habitats (wetland, meadows and forest) where native wildlife thrives. As you explore this special public park, you will discover aspects of its industrial past, how natural habitats are maintained in the present, and how the landscape may evolve in the future.

Please enjoy the park responsibly. Walking off the trail, climbing the slopes, letting dogs off leash, and disturbing wildlife or vegetation all cause serious damage to the park. Choose to help, not to hurt!

Recreational Trails, No Winter Maintenance.

Industrial Buildings Re-purposed industrial buildings, now home to the neighbour Evergreen Brick Works, an environmental community centre which explores making cities more sustainable. Photo: © Elena

Quarry pond. Rim of what was once a huge day quarry. What is now transformed into natural habitat was once a large quarry for brick manufacturing. Photo: © Elena

Children’s garden. A place where children can play, explore and discover through hands-on contact with nature. Evergreen staff members facilitate the experience, with the aim to allow each child the opportunity to cultivate their sense of curiosity, wonder and independence. Photo: © Elena

Evergreen Chimney. Evergreen Brick Works chimney. If you are lucky, you might spot the erratic flight of a Chimney Swift! This small chattering bird, often described as a “cigar with wings”, can be seen flying above Toronto between April and October. Swifts belong to a group of birds called “aerial insectivores” because they spend most of their time in flight, and flying insects are their only food source. When swifts arrive in Ontario each year in late April or early May, they look for suitable nesting chimneys. These birds form nests from small sticks and attach them to the inside wall of a chimney, using the saliva as glue. A swift decline. Across Canada, Chimney Swifts have undergone dramatic population declines in the last 40 years. Their numbers have decreased by as much as 90%. The causes are unknown, but could include: Fewer flying insects; Loss of open brick chimneys; Chimney cleaning and nest removal; Extreme weather. How can you help the swifts? Avoid chimney maintenance between May and September. Submit sighting at eBird.ca. If you have swifts in your chimney, report them to Bird Sanctuary Ontario SwiftWatch program. Photo: © Elena

Watershed Wall. Don Valley Brick Works Park is an important link in Toronto’s natural ravine system. To appreciate the extent of Toronto’s green corridors, take a look at the Watershed Wall sculpture located at the Evergreen Brick Works. Photo: © Elena

Butterfly Garden: Featuring vibrant colours and diverse native plants, the species in this garden attract butterflies throughout their entire lifecycle – from egg to caterpillar, chrysalis and adult. Photo: © Elena

First Nations Medicine Garden: Planted by Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, this garden features medicinal plants found naturally throughout Ontario habitats, and have been used for centuries by First Nations. This garden was designed with a focus on four Directions teachings, represented by the colours black, white, red and yellow. Photo: © Elena

Flagrant native plants chosen for this garden, such as evening primrose and Virginia mountain mint, invigorate our sense of smell. They have been used by humans for centuries, for a range of applications – from stuffing mattresses to making herbal teas and oils. Photo: © Elena

Don River

Don River

The Don River is formed from two rivers, the West and the East branches. These branches meet about 4 miles north of Lake Ontario. The river is joined then by a third branch, Taylor-Massey Creek. The area below the confluence is known as the lower Don. The Don River then empties into Lake Ontario, at Toronto Bay. Its total length is of about 38 miles.

There is little archaeological evidence in the Don valley, but the most significant recorded find is known as the Withrow Site, discovered in 1886.

In 1788, Alexander Aitkin, an English surveyor who worked in southern Ontario, referred to the Don River as Ne cheng qua kekonk. Another name used was Wonscotanach.

After the founding of York (Toronto) in 1793, several mills were constructed along the lower Don. One of the first was at Todmorden Mills. By the 1850s, the Lower Don was becoming an industrial setting. Petroleum storage facilities, poultry and pork processing plants were constructed along the banks of the Don. In 1879, the Don Valley Brick Works opened.

Don River. Photo by Elena

In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) was constructed through the Lower Don to serve the commuter traffic. Two hills within the Don valley were levelled and the soil used for grading the highway. Increasing development reduced the natural areas of the watershed. This impacted the Don with increased pollution, heavy flooding, and turbid sediment laden waters.

Efforts to restore the Don gathered steam in 1989 with a public forum at the Ontario Science Centre. The result was the formation of the Task Force to Bring Back the Don, a citizen’s advisory body to Toronto City Council. In 1991 Bring Back the Don released a document called Bringing Back the Don which laid out plans for restoration, including a re-naturalized mouth of the Don. In 1998 a plan to revive Toronto’s waterfront was initiated.

Don Valley meadow. Photo by Elena

The Don Valley is notable because of its deep wide valley in the lower reaches. At the Bloor Street Viaduct, the valley is about 400 m wide while the river is only about 15 m wide. This is due to its glacial origins, about 12,000 years ago at the end of the Wisconsinan Glaciation. The Don Valley contains thus one of the most interesting locations for studying the regional geological history.

The Don Valley Brick Works was an old brick making factory with a quarry where they extracted shale. At the rear wall, local geologists discovered a record of the past three glaciations. There are nine distinct layers visible dating back 120,000 years.

Mud Creek. Photo by Elena

Curious Facts about Canada

Curious Facts about Canada

Bow and arrow. Coiled baskets. Animals as gifts. Legend of a mask. Andrew Bonar Law. McIntosh Apple Tree

Use of the basic bow and arrow: Like many other Indian customs, the use of the basic bow and arrow is inaccurately portrayed by white persons. From the earliest sketches on down through many years of hollywood extravaganzas Indians have been depicted shooting their bows in the classic stance of the European archers of the Middle ages. For many years leading Indians like Chief Dan George of British Colombia have consistently pointed out that Indians held their bows horizontally, not vertically like Robin Hood.

Coiled baskets: Coiled baskets made by interior Salish Indians, B.C., were so tightly woven they were used as cooking vessels.

Majestic animals used for royal gifts: Nearly a thousand years ago vikings of medieval times traveling o what is now the Canadian Arctic, were capturing live polar bears. The Bears were used by Norse Kings as Gift Pets that impressed other European rulers.

Toronto downtown. Photo: Elena.

Legend of a mask: A humorous legend is attached to a mask called the Great One. The Mask was used in Eastern Indian Rites for the sick, and it represented a spirit who once challenged the Creator himself to a mountain moving contest. The Creator responded by smacking a mountain up against the Great One’s nose, leving him with a permanent nose tilt and a sheepish expression.

Andrew Bonar Law: Andrew Bonar Law born at Rexton (Kingston), New-Brunswick, was the first and only Canadian to become Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is buried among renowned figures of British history in Westminster abbey.

The McIntosh apple tree: In 1796, John McIntosh planted an apple orchard in Dundas County, Upper Canada (Ontario). The seeds weren’t reliable and the resulting growth made this plain. Only one tree showed promise. But careful crossing and grafting from the single good tree brought the other trees along. Today, every McIntosh apple grown can be traced back to the seeds and grafts of the lone tree that John McIntosh nurtured to bring forth the world famous apple named after him.

Lumbering: One of Canada’s first important commercial industries was lumbering. Far up the mighty rivers, huge rafts of squared logs were assembled by the loggers in preparation for the spring journeys downstream. With their living quarters on the deck, many men worked, slept and ate on the was down to ports where the rafts of squared timber were disassembled and loaded on ships bound for England. As early as 1790, a timber raft from near Kingston, Ontario, reached Quebec City.

Log trough roofs: From the earliest days of French settlement in the East to relatively recent times in the West, roof of hollowed half logs were used. The bark was left on and it is surprising how long they lasted without cracking or becoming non-water shedding.

(It happened in Canada, by Gordon Johnston, 1985, Scholastic Canada Ltd, Toronto, pages 3 and 4).

View from Elena's appartement in Montreal. Photo by Elena.