The Oak Ridges Moraine, located in south-central Ontario, is recognized for its ecological importance in providing “clean and abundant water resources, healthy and diverse plant and animal habitat, an attractive and distinct landscape, prime agricultural land, and sand and gravel resources” (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 2002). It is protected by the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (2002). A number of initiatives are ongoing to develop monitoring capabilities across the Oak Ridges Moraine (Monitoring the Moraine Project, 2008; Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs, 2008). The purpose of this thesis is to develop and test a multi-party policy monitoring framework to determine if infrastructure environmental assessments on the Oak Ridges Moraine comply with the policies of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) and meet best practices of environmental assessment identified in the literature. The multi-party policy monitoring framework developed for this research has two dimensions: 1. A moraine-wide survey and map of infrastructure environmental assessments contributing to a “governance watch” (Francis, 2006a; Francis, 2006b) perspective of infrastructure; and 2. An evaluation of an infrastructure environmental assessment case study (York Region’s Lower Leslie Street Trunk Sewer and 19th Avenue Interceptor Sewer) against a set of criteria to determine if it complies with the ORMCP and environmental assessment best practices. The results of the environmental assessment map show a distinctive pattern of infrastructure development, concentrated in the eastern half of the moraine, and within designated settlement areas. That being said, infrastructure networks are expanding to connect settlement areas outside the Greater Toronto Area. The environmental assessment map shows the importance of thinking of infrastructure as a networked system, rather than as discrete projects. The results of the case study evaluation showed that the Lower Leslie Street Trunk Sewer and 19th Avenue Interceptor Sewer Environmental Assessment complied with the minimal requirements of Section 41 of the ORMCP, and in some cases went above and beyond the requirements of the ORMCP. The results suggest, however, that some criteria drawn from the literature, would be better addressed by strategic environmental assessment of infrastructure master plans. / Thesis (Master, Urban & Regional Planning) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-28 09:57:19.652

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-144). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR19681

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-169). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: LINK NOT YET AVAILABLE.

Aquifers associated with the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) supply drinking water to more than 200,000 people. These aquifers are often overlain by relatively lower permeability till deposits (aquitards) often considered to provide protection to underlying aquifers. A transformer station is under construction by Hydro One (H1) on 11 hectares of H1 owned land on the ORM in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario. The surficial geology is mapped as till. It is important to consider potential groundwater impacts of this transformer project. As part of the environmental assessment conducted by H1, groundwater information was collected from the property and from nearby homeowner wells. This thesis concerns the geology and groundwater conditions beneath the property utilizing both existing information and also study of a drill hole, commissioned by H1, continuously cored into bedrock at 127.76 m depth. There is a paucity of deep hydrogeological information over the eastern half of the ORM. This thesis reports on the hydrogeology of the local area, which is in a hydrologic setting common throughout much of the ORM, thereby providing valuable information to inform the regional context. The cored hole showed the presence of two deep regional sand aquifers, known as the Thorncliffe and Scarborough aquifers, overlying bedrock. The surficial till unit is interpreted to be over 75 m thick and includes a near-surface sand layer and two deeper, thin sandy layers within this very dense till. This study, conducted as a collaboration between the Universities of Guelph and McMaster, represents the first phase of a continuing study of the hydrogeology of the H1 property and adjacent area. The next phase includes installation of a depth-discrete, multilevel monitoring system (MLS) for water level measurement and groundwater sampling at 16 different depths. This thesis includes a design for this MLS to be installed beside the deep hole. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / This thesis concerns the geology and groundwater conditions at the Hydro One transformer station under construction in the Municipality of Clarington, located near the southwestern periphery of the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM). The ORM, throughout its full extent north of Lake Ontario, has aquifers supplying drinking water to more than 200,000 people, some near the transformer station. The thesis, which is the first phase of a longer term study, uses information obtained from a borehole that provided continuous core samples from near ground surface down through deposits formed by Pleistocene glaciers and into the shale bedrock at 127 m depth. This borehole and four monitoring wells installed by Hydro One nearby, provide the first deep groundwater information of its type available from this part of the ORM and indicate the presence of two deep regional sand aquifers and suggest the occurrence of two thin intermediate depth sand aquifers.

Conservation in Canada is increasingly driven by land use planning processes. Approaches to governing nature conservation have shifted dramatically from protecting isolated pristine areas to greater attention to the remaining fragments of greenspace in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. The ways that societies govern and use nature are always changing, and these physical management actions are connected to deeply rooted cultural norms and values about the ideal relationship between humans and nature. In the land use planning approach to conservation, citizens and governments find value and construct meaning for remaining nature rather than beginning with normative considerations of what is most worthy of protection. At the root of this conservation planning trend is a growing appreciation for hybrid nature that is valued as natural in spite of the past or present influences upon it. This represents a dramatic shift from the traditional values involved in North American nature conservation, where nature was most valued for its perceived separation from human influence and protected to maintain its untouched qualities. In light of these ideological shifts in the ways that Canadians value and in turn manage nature, is there a corresponding change in the ways that conservation activists perceive environmental value and evaluate naturalness? An increasing number of studies demonstrate that public valuation of nature is not limited to pristine environments: even highly disturbed environments can be valued as natural and are not perceived as a form of lesser nature. Conceptions of what is natural and what is not are highly subjective and variable; in particular, the body of work on the social dimensions of both invasive species and ecological restoration demonstrates the ways in which people construct naturalness in accord with their values and cultural context. By exploring the extent to which people perceive invasive species as reducing naturalness and how ecological restoration is perceived to restore it, these subjects serve as excellent conceptual lenses for exploring constructions of nature. This study explores the subtle variations in environmental values and perception of naturalness among a study population who self-identify as pursuing the same goal: ensuring the continued protection of the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Moraine is a partly urbanized landform in southern Ontario that is situated within a complex hybrid socio-ecological landscape. It is also the subject of an active and high profile conservation movement that has spanned over 40 years. Using a combination of interviews and Q Method, this study explored how citizens engaged in Oak Ridges Moraine conservation perceive both the current and ideal state of naturalness on the Moraine, with specific emphasis on how the discourses these citizens use to frame the Moraine invoke the concept of naturalness Findings from this study reveal that Moraine activists represent a conservation paradox: they value the natural, non-human qualities of the landform, yet at the same time identify the Moraine as a hybrid landscape with both social and ecological qualities. In particular, respondents indicated a strong interest in naturalness in the context of invasive species and ecological restoration, yet at the same time identified the naturalness of the Moraine to be a lesser priority in the face of urban development pressures. In this way, citizens engaged in Moraine conservation respond to the hybrid quality of the Moraine landscape by moving beyond the binary distinction between nature and society, situating themselves as both apart from and a part of the landscape at the same time. This finding demonstrates how values for conserving nature are affected by hybridity between social and ecological systems, and suggests how embracing the paradox of hybrid nature can contribute to understanding and managing complex socio-ecological systems.

The implementation of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR) in Canada is strongly dependent on grassroots community-based support and understanding. The recent calls for the Oak Ridges Moraine and adjacent Greenbelt lands (ORMGB) to be designated a BR require that a communications strategy be created to garner local support. Taking into consideration complex systems theory, this study looked to build a communications framework that combined higher-scale social organizing literature like social movement and environmental campaigns more detail-focused group dynamics and strategic communications research. Applying this framework to the ORMBG landscape revealed key target audience groups and messaging for the BR communications strategy.

The goal of this thesis was to test the applicability of biomarker analyses to better understand the glacial stratigraphic record of the Hudson Bay Lowlands and Oak Ridges Moraine. A biomarker analysis conducted on three geologic deposits from the Hudson Bay Lowlands showed that they can be differentiated based on organic matter (OM) inputs and stage of diagenesis, relating to paleoclimate and depositional environments. In the second study, a biomarker analysis was applied to samples from ten deposits in the Oak Ridges Moraine. These deposits were differentiated based on OM inputs relating to paleovegetation. Additionally, reincorporation and post-deposition alteration led to sample heterogeneity confirming the current understanding of glacial depositional processes and environments. This thesis shows that biomarker analyses can effectively differentiate and contextualize geologic deposits based on OM inputs and stage of diagenesis. This in turn will provide a more robust understanding of the stratigraphic record.

The goal of this thesis was to test the applicability of biomarker analyses to better understand the glacial stratigraphic record of the Hudson Bay Lowlands and Oak Ridges Moraine. A biomarker analysis conducted on three geologic deposits from the Hudson Bay Lowlands showed that they can be differentiated based on organic matter (OM) inputs and stage of diagenesis, relating to paleoclimate and depositional environments. In the second study, a biomarker analysis was applied to samples from ten deposits in the Oak Ridges Moraine. These deposits were differentiated based on OM inputs relating to paleovegetation. Additionally, reincorporation and post-deposition alteration led to sample heterogeneity confirming the current understanding of glacial depositional processes and environments. This thesis shows that biomarker analyses can effectively differentiate and contextualize geologic deposits based on OM inputs and stage of diagenesis. This in turn will provide a more robust understanding of the stratigraphic record.

Conservation in Canada is increasingly driven by land use planning processes. Approaches to governing nature conservation have shifted dramatically from protecting isolated pristine areas to greater attention to the remaining fragments of greenspace in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. The ways that societies govern and use nature are always changing, and these physical management actions are connected to deeply rooted cultural norms and values about the ideal relationship between humans and nature. In the land use planning approach to conservation, citizens and governments find value and construct meaning for remaining nature rather than beginning with normative considerations of what is most worthy of protection. At the root of this conservation planning trend is a growing appreciation for hybrid nature that is valued as natural in spite of the past or present influences upon it. This represents a dramatic shift from the traditional values involved in North American nature conservation, where nature was most valued for its perceived separation from human influence and protected to maintain its untouched qualities. In light of these ideological shifts in the ways that Canadians value and in turn manage nature, is there a corresponding change in the ways that conservation activists perceive environmental value and evaluate naturalness? An increasing number of studies demonstrate that public valuation of nature is not limited to pristine environments: even highly disturbed environments can be valued as natural and are not perceived as a form of lesser nature. Conceptions of what is natural and what is not are highly subjective and variable; in particular, the body of work on the social dimensions of both invasive species and ecological restoration demonstrates the ways in which people construct naturalness in accord with their values and cultural context. By exploring the extent to which people perceive invasive species as reducing naturalness and how ecological restoration is perceived to restore it, these subjects serve as excellent conceptual lenses for exploring constructions of nature. This study explores the subtle variations in environmental values and perception of naturalness among a study population who self-identify as pursuing the same goal: ensuring the continued protection of the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Moraine is a partly urbanized landform in southern Ontario that is situated within a complex hybrid socio-ecological landscape. It is also the subject of an active and high profile conservation movement that has spanned over 40 years. Using a combination of interviews and Q Method, this study explored how citizens engaged in Oak Ridges Moraine conservation perceive both the current and ideal state of naturalness on the Moraine, with specific emphasis on how the discourses these citizens use to frame the Moraine invoke the concept of naturalness Findings from this study reveal that Moraine activists represent a conservation paradox: they value the natural, non-human qualities of the landform, yet at the same time identify the Moraine as a hybrid landscape with both social and ecological qualities. In particular, respondents indicated a strong interest in naturalness in the context of invasive species and ecological restoration, yet at the same time identified the naturalness of the Moraine to be a lesser priority in the face of urban development pressures. In this way, citizens engaged in Moraine conservation respond to the hybrid quality of the Moraine landscape by moving beyond the binary distinction between nature and society, situating themselves as both apart from and a part of the landscape at the same time. This finding demonstrates how values for conserving nature are affected by hybridity between social and ecological systems, and suggests how embracing the paradox of hybrid nature can contribute to understanding and managing complex socio-ecological systems.

The implementation of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR) in Canada is strongly dependent on grassroots community-based support and understanding. The recent calls for the Oak Ridges Moraine and adjacent Greenbelt lands (ORMGB) to be designated a BR require that a communications strategy be created to garner local support. Taking into consideration complex systems theory, this study looked to build a communications framework that combined higher-scale social organizing literature like social movement and environmental campaigns more detail-focused group dynamics and strategic communications research. Applying this framework to the ORMBG landscape revealed key target audience groups and messaging for the BR communications strategy.