How to See in Plain Sight

July 9, 2022 10:00AM-11:30AM

Event Information:
Ellen Schwartzel of the Toronto Field Naturalists led us through a walk titled How to See in Plain Sight, that attended to the lower Don’s ravine system. Moving us through dappled sunlight and chlorophyll canopies, Schwartzel discussed and identified the plant life being tended to around Todmorden Mills, making legible the strategies of present ecologies. Questions of deep time and industrial encroachment revealed how complex and layered the act of identification can be within an urban context.

How to See in Plain Sight was presented on the same day as Ameen Ahmed’s walk How to See in the Dark. Both events acted as complimentary entry points into the ravine and program as a whole.

Event Response by Erika Verhagen

Ellen Schwartzel (president, Toronto Field Naturalists) is the current president of the Toronto Field Naturalists. Ellen served the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in various roles from 1995 - 2018, and was Deputy Commissioner from 2014-2018. Ellen was also Acting Environmental Commissioner for a six month term, May- Dec. 2015, during which time the office released three reports to the Ontario Legislature. Ellen received her BSc and MSc in Botany at the University of Toronto.

All images courtesy of Benjamin Freedman