On reading about the growing resistance to a mega-quarry being proposed for southern Ontario, I had an epiphany about the media’s use of the term NIMBY, for “not in my backyard.” It’s normally used to describe grassroots efforts to block everything from big box stores to bike lanes. NIMBYism has taken on a negative association, often implying naive or parochial resistance to projects that challenge the status quo in a community.
But NIMBYism isn’t always bad. It can also be the result of genuine concern for the local environment. I’d like to propose a new kind of NIMBY, one that is positive and reflects a true sense of caring for our communities. Let’s say yes to Nature in My Backyard.
A good place to start would be literally in our backyards. That means encouraging more home gardens; more native plants that support birds, bees and butterflies; and more backyard composters. At the regional level, NIMBYism could be directed toward wrapping greenbelts around our sprawling urban areas. Protecting the farms, forests and wetlands around our urban areas is an investment that will pay huge dividends. The Ontario Greenbelt is estimated to provide the Golden Horseshoe region with more than $2.6 billion in economic benefits each year, and it serves as a bright green example of how we can protect and restore nature in the backyards of an entire region.
But perhaps the most exciting Nature in My Backyard campaign is an effort to establish Canada’s first urban National Park in the Rouge Valley, at the east end of Toronto. Parks Canada is celebrating the 100th year of our magnificent National Parks system. I can think of no better way to commemorate this milestone than to bring nature to urbanites. Imagine a national park that is accessible by public transit for millions of city dwellers.
Despite being in the heart of one of the densest urban areas in North America, the Rouge Valley is a surprisingly intact chunk of forests, fields and waterways that meanders from the Oak Ridges Moraine in Markham to the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Scarborough. After more than two decades of tireless advocacy and political horse-trading, the Rouge is now poised to become the first and largest urban national park in North America.
Although significant work remains before the prime minister arrives for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, these are heady days for a green space that most Canadians — and Torontonians for that matter — have likely never heard of. Adding a national park in the Rouge will provide a much-needed opportunity for residents throughout the GTA to take pride and get outside.
I encourage citizens across the country to join me in celebrating the new NIMBY and saying yes to nature in our backyards, neighbourhoods and communities. It will be an important reminder that nature isn’t a destination; it is literally in our backyard.
Post City Magazines’ environmental columnist, David Suzuki, is the host of the CBC’s The Nature of Things. David is also the author of more than 30 books on ecology.