Spadina Quay Wetlands & Waterfront Children's Garden

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Lonely Planet review

This 0.28-hectare former parking lot is now a thriving, sustainable ecosystem full of frogs, birds and fish. When lakeside fishermen noticed that mature Northern Pike were spawning here each spring - a pattern probably (and remarkably) unchanged for centuries - the city took it upon itself to create this new habitat.

Complete with flowering heath plants, poplar trees and a birdhouse modeled on former industrial architecture, it's a little gem leading the way in the Harbourfront district's redevelopment. Aside from the pike, look for Monarch butterflies, Mallard ducks, Goldfinches, dragonflies and Red-winged Blackbirds. Adjoining the wetlands is the modest but equally rewarding Waterfront Children's Garden, where city kids can plant veggies, do some weeding and generally get a feel for something green amongst the concrete.