Getting to the Brick Works from Pottery Road

Three possible routes: red, green, and yellow (see below for descriptions)

The Don Valley Brick Works has undergone a transformation in recent years and has opened up under the care of Evergreen Canada as the Evergreen Brick Works. Evergreen has done a masterful job of restoring the buildings and updating the site for multiple uses including a farmer's market, a native plant nursery and a skating rink in the winter. The place is worth a visit.

Unfortunately access other than by car has been and continues to be a challenge. The TTC runs a bus there but only on Saturdays. The 28A Davisville bus extends its route to the Brick Works 8AM - 6 PM. Evergreen offers a shuttle bus from Broadview subway station that travels every 20 minutes between 7 AM to 7 PM (4:30 PM on weekends). Access routes by foot and by bicycle remain difficult and at times safety-challenged.


Improved intersection at Bayview Avenue includes a new pedestrian crossing on the north side

Recently the city has done a complete makeover of Pottery Road. It was supposed to re-open September 5 but due to issues with an unstable slope it remains closed until November 30. Fortunately, there is safe access for pedestrians and cyclists to make it through. In addition there is now a pedestrian crosswalk (with a crossing button on both sides) at the intersection of Pottery Rd and Bayview Ave so this is definitely a positive step forward.

Therefore it makes sense to review the access options to the Brick Works from Pottery Road. If you look at the map, there are three possible routes. Based on colours I will describe each route and their pros and cons.

Red Route


Path up side of hill. Ravine access road is just to the right (don't go that way)

From the intersection at Pottery and Bayview, cross at the lights and turn right (north). Go up the hill a short distance. When you reach a park access road that winds up through a small ravine to the north west, you will also see a dirt path going up the hill to your left. This path is very steep and can be slippery in wet conditions but can be managed with care. I don't recommend this route for any cyclists except those with good mountain bikes. At the top of the hill you will find a railway. It's OK - currently it is not in use and there are even small trees growing through the ties. Cross the tracks and scramble up a short steep embankment and this will bring you into the north east corner of the old quarry.


View of Brick Works ponds from the top of the slope

The top edge offers one of the best views of the quarry ponds. There is a dirt road which goes south and this will lead you to the north edge of the Brick Works complex. While going down the winding gravel road you will see a climbing tower built by Outward Bound, one of Evergreen's tenants. You can also take a detour to a lookout or scramble down the slope on one of the informal paths that lead into the pond area.

Green Route


Median is about 2m wide but only a painted line separates you from traffic. Be careful!

From the intersection at Pottery and Bayview, cross at the lights and turn left (south). Follow the paved median beside Bayview. This can be a bit unnerving because traffic comes up behind you at quite a clip. The speed limit on Bayview was recently reduced from 70 kph to 60 kph but this doesn't make you feel much safer. As you continue along around the corner you will notice a new access road that gets you into the back parking are of the Brick Works. At some point there will be Jersey barriers placed along this route but until then care must be used here. This is the shortest access route and is usable by both walkers and cyclists.

Yellow Route


Start of Yellow Route trail

This route starts immediately on the west side of the CN railway crossing. Getting to this point is the hardest part because you must cross two lanes of traffic with no aids other than your wits. When you cross the river, the only pedestrian access is on the north side so you need to cross the tracks and then scoot across the road (there has been talk of building a pedestrian bridge on the south side but this will be sometime in the future when gravy stops flowing down the Don River). Care must be used at this point. Once you make it across Pottery Road, this route turns out to be the nicest of the three.


Trail runs close to railroad so be careful

The informal path here follows a route between the railway tracks and the road. Safely ensconced between road and rail the path allows for mostly single file passage almost all the way to the entrance of the Brick Works. The path exits onto Bayview about 25m east of the lights. Fortunately a newly installed pedestrian activated button allows for easy crossing of Bayview. This route was recommended by me as the preferred route but unfortunately due to a point where it narrows near a rail installation, the city wouldn't go for it.

So there you have it. Recent changes make for easier access. Eventually the Green Route will be improved. Until then you can choose your preferred route based on your own comfort level.

Inaugural Meeting Held for the BWCAC

The Brick Works Community Advisory Committee met for the first time last night. This group was created by Evergreen at the behest of the local community. There are about dozen committee members made up of reps from environmental groups, neighbourhood groups and individuals interested in the project. In our initial introductions, I learned that the group includes a retired marketing exec, an elementary school teacher, and a chiropodist.

This committee grew out of a previous committee called the Brick Works Public Advisory Committee which was created by the city. It's purpose was to advise city council and staff on issues concerning the Don Valley Brick Works site. When Evergreen started to manage the site, the committee was disbanded. To provide some continuity, Evergreen agreed to create the new body.

The purpose of the committee is to act as a liaison between Evergreen and the local community. At this stage it's unclear how this will actually work but we agreed that meetings should start with an update on how the project is proceeding. This will be crucial during the construction period which will continue over the next two years.

The first meeting was taken up by introductions and orientation. We didn't get much of a chance to interact so it is hard to gauge how effective the group will be. Someone mentioned that all groups go through a process of forming, storming, norming, and performing. Based on this formula we did parts of the first and second stage but it looks like the 'performing' part may be a ways down the road.

Brick Works Flickr Show

Flickr is a popular photo library. I have used it myself for some sets of photos. I have come across numerous collections of Brick Works photos, mostly interior building shots of decaying industrial scenes. Until I get my own act together and organize my own photos, I bring you another set taken by "picsnapper".

**Update**

I removed the iframe because it always wants to grab the attention of the browser regardless of which post your looking at. Until I find something better (maybe a flash player?) I will just replace with a link to the slideshow.

**End of Update**

I found a way to imbed the slide show in a blog posting (for any geeks out there the HTML tag is called an 'iframe'). This dialogue will run a slideshow which you can watch in the small screen within the blog or if you click on the button at the lower right you can see the photos in full screen mode. If you want to see more photos by this photographer you can switch to his/her profile.

Graffiti Mars Evergreen Brick Works Kick-off

Graffiti in Brick Works Quarry Garden

I stopped by the Brick Works today. It was cold and sunny but the park is sheltered from the wind so it was quite bearable. Unfortunately not everyone is here to appreciate the scenery. A couple of days ago some yobbo spray painted all the signs and rocks in the quarry garden with the word "evergreed". Apparently his/her editorial opinion on Evergreen's project to renovate the Brick Works. It is ironic that the vandal targeted the park area which is still city owned and managed and not part of the renovations. Evergreen's lease extends only to the north edge of the buildings. However there is nothing to really say where their property ends and the city's starts.

This is an understandable confusion. It is not readily apparent that the property is in fact two distinctive sections. However neither the city nor Evergreen have made this clear. Evergreen's own conceptual drawings show a seamless connection, as if to say they have some control over the park as well as the buildings.

This may need to be clarified and I will certainly bring it up at the first meeting of the Brick Works Public Advisory Committee which will start to meet next year.


Interpretive signs cleaned off easy; evidence of paint remains in snow. The rocks are another matter. They will need to be treated with a high pressure spray to get cleaned up.


Is the Brick Works one place or two?


You can't visit the Brick Works without taking in the view

Evergreen Starts Brick Works Renovation

Yilin Zhao, a local schoolgirl praises Evergreen's initiative. Other speakers included Jim Flaherty (Feds), Aileen Carroll (Province), Mayor David Miller, and Geoff Cape

I attended Evergreen's official ground breaking ceremony this morning at the Brick Works. It was chilly and snowy but I still rode my bike. There were about 200 people in attendance but I saw only one other bicycle in the racks (hmmph!). It was nearly 2 years ago when Flaherty and co were last here to announce $20 million in funding for this project. Props to the feds for coming through on a project in the Don (the first of many?).

There was a lengthy series of speeches. Apart from bad Ottawa jokes they mostly thanked everyone under the sun who had anything to do with the project. The one bright spot was a group of schoolchildren recruited for the photo-op. One of them stood at the podium and made quite a good speech about why the environment is important to her (hope everyone on the podium was listening).

After the speeches there was a ceremonial tree planting followed by champers all around. Now that we've seen the project kickoff, expect to see some dust to fly in the near future as construction gets underway. You should be able to follow the project's progress on Evergreen's Brick Works journal blog.


Large crowd in attendance


Champagne anyone?


A trip to the Brick Works should always include a visit to the quarry ponds. Here's a shot of the southern pond looking north to Governor's Road.

Honey Bee Security Guards

Warning sign

The Brick Works building complex has been derelict for close to 30 years with only one or two of the smaller buildings being reused. The larger buildings have remained empty and unused. This neglect has attracted all sorts of unwanted visitors. They've been a magnet for many novice and professional photographers who specialize in industrial settings. There has also been weekend raves and explorers of tunnels and abandoned places. The insides are filled with graffiti and garbage.

When I was on the Brick Works Public Advisory Committee (now disbanded), I advocated for a security guard presence to deter visitors. After much delay we ended up with a once nightly visit from a security guard who only drove into the front parking lot. This did little to reduce problem visitors.

Today when I visited the Brick Works I noticed a sign on the fence outside the Chimney Court. Inside was a collection of beehives. I don't know if they will prevent people from entering the buildings but the prospect of a bee sting may force potential visitors to think twice before entering. It sounds like a win-win solution - the honey bees pollinate flowers at the Brick Works, they deter unwanted visitors, and they produce loads sweet tasting honey.


Honey bee hives clustered next to honeycomb painted hut. The hut looks awfully similar to the ones constructed by the Holmes on Homes show that was filmed at the Brick Works last year.

Brick Works Plumbing Problems

Situation map


Water coming from base of hill. What is the source?


Water flowing south down path toward front parking lot.

As early as 2001 I noticed that a torrent of water spewed out of the ground at the southwest corner of the Brick Works Quarry Ponds Park after a heavy rainstorm. The water's source was not readily apparent as the hill directly above it was completely dry. It wasn't until recently that I found the source.


June 23 - water overflowed gully

July 22 - dry gully. Culvert is below railing in middle of photo (click to see detail)

On June 23 I was taking pictures in the vicinity of the Brick Works and noticed this problem re-occurring. I went up the hill on my way to take pictures of another situation when I noticed to my amazement that the off-leash dog area was now a lake! The water was ponding in this area to a depth of more than 3 metres from the bottom of the Mud Creek gully. During the storm the culvert where the water goes underground must have become plugged and all the storm water filled up the depression in response.


View of the culvert. Toronto Water has removed debris from the culvert that was causing the blockage (pile of debris to left of culvert).

Somehow this water was starting to leak into the Quarry Garden below. I am not sure of the exact path but the dotted line on the map shows the direction that the water may be taking.

I am fairly certain that these two situations are linked. This problem needs to be addressed at some point. As with most underground problems the fix will be complex and expensive.

Urban Design and Brick Works

The Don Valley Brick Works has been a fairly quiet place for the past ten years but in the next year it will become a hive of activity. Evergreen, a prominent urban environment NGO has developed a plan to restore the Brick Works as part headquarters, part eco-centre. This ambitious plan has attracted top architects and designers to transform the derelict industrial buildings into a new urban place that may be a hallmark for the Don Valley (it could also turn out to be a white elephant but I'm not going to make any predictions).

The design firm that ended up with the prize was Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes Inc. This firm has been in the news recently as the winners of a design contest for the Jarvis Street pier on Toronto's Harbour. The firm has an interesting tableau of pictures and conceptual drawings for the Brick Works site.

Updated Brick Works Design

Evergreen has released two new photo mockups of their vision for the Don Valley Brick Works. These are the culmination of two years of effort, public consultation, and fundraising.

Evergreen's plans are based on the concept of adaptive reuse. In other words, taking an existing building on a brownfield site that is no longer being used for its original purpose and reconfiguring it for a new use. This is environmentally preferable than razing the structure and starting from scratch or by developing some new greenfield site. It should be interesting to compare these design photos with the buildings when construction is completed in a couple of years. Mouse click on either photo for a more detailed view.


View of buildings looking southeast


View of site looking north east

Brick Works Announcement

Evergreen has just announced final plans for the Don Valley Brick Works. These plans have been several years in the making and it is good to see that all their hard work is finally paying off. The plan has undergone many changes, in part due to listening to public input from groups and individuals concerned with the Don. Work is due to begin in next year. Don Watcher will keep you apprised of future developments.

Note: these plans only affect the building complex. The quarry park and ponds will remain under the control of the Parks department.

Odd Construction at the Brick Works

Newly built huts on Quarry Ponds patio

I was passing by the Brick Works the other day when I came across this odd scene on the patio next to the quarry ponds. Someone had built little huts and placed them on blocks. Underneath the main canopy where most of the main events are held, there were obvious signs of some sort of movie or TV show in the progress of being filmed.

I found out later that the production was Holmes on Homes, a Canadian home improvement show. The little buildings were only temporary as they were removed after a couple of days. Yet the scene of them beside the ponds just made for a lesson in incongruity.



One of the huts framed against the backdrop of the ponds and the forest.

CBC Reports on Evergreen's Plans

I found this video on the CBC website. Mary Ito a community reporter talks to Geoff Cape about Evergreen's plan to transform the Don Valley Brick Works into an interpretive education centre. The video is pretty good although it's a bit of a puff piece for Evergreen - not real journalism. It doesn't address any of the challenges of the site nor any of the concerns that have been expressed by local groups about the make-over plans. Nevertheless it does showcase the Brick Works park nicely. Worth a look.

Bird Watching at the Brick Works

Cedar Waxwing at the Brick Works

If you're into bird watching, spring and fall are the best times to be out looking for birds. That's because many species that migrate are passing through on their way to breeding grounds or winter resting places. If you can't get out of the city to known bird watching places such as Long Point or Point Pelee then the Don Valley Brick Works is not a bad alternative. The quarry ponds are a good place to find birds that are looking for a rest stop.

My camera isn't the best for taking bird photos but there are several examples around of birders who have better cameras and know how to take bird photographs. I found this website called Canada Bird Photography and they have a recent entry about the Brick Works.

Wetland Planting at the Brick Works

I attended a workshop at the Don Valley Brick Works on how to plant in a wetland or a pond. It was attended by about 25 people from the Community Stewardship Program. Paul Morris of Acorus Restoration gave a 30 minute presentation followed by a hands-on demonstration of planting techniques in the quarry ponds.


Paul Morris talks about the different kinds of wetland plants

The proper technique is to stick your trowel into the mud, push once away from you then pull towards you. Then you place the seedling into the hole behind the trowel. Remove the trowel and then give it a kick (unless it is underwater). The kick removes any air pockets under the surface which can cause growth problems.

For an emergent or underwater plant you can also take some clay and form it into a ball around the roots and drop the whole thing into the water. This will quickly take root where it is dropped.

I nominated myself as event photographer. I also shot some video of the action which I cobbled together in a short video which I have posted on YouTube.




Girls in hip waders - oh yeah!

Landslide at the Brick Works

Location of destabilized slope on the western edge of the Brick Works Ponds (click on map for a close-up)

I was passing by the Don Valley Brick Works on Friday. One of my favourite access points is from the Moore Park Ravine. As you come south along the Beltline Trail, there is an informal path that you can take to the north west corner of the Brick Works Quarry park. From here you can enter the pond area.

This time I skirted the western edge where another path takes you along the top of slope between Mud Creek and the ponds. I went this way because about three weeks ago I noticed a large amount of woody debris clogging the channel where Mud Creek flows. In addition the diversion pipe that lets water flow from Mud Creek into the upper pond in the quarry was almost completely silted up. I notified the city about the situation and left it there. The pipe was clogged up last year and they quickly unplugged it so I figured that similar action would be taken soon.

This time no such action has been taken. In fact the situation is much worse. The debris clogging the channel has now moved downstream and is clogging the storm drain. Debris litters the top of the bank where the creek has overflowed. On the quarry side water has flowed quite vigorously into the Brick Works. The slope, already shaky due to its shale makeup has partially collapsed. Parts of the remaining slope look very unstable and further collapse is imminent. Unless something is done soon the entire slope will collapse into a heap of rubble.

Also the diversion pipe is still silted up. Very little water flows into the ponds. With the dry weather we have been getting the past month the ponds are at the lowest level I have ever seen.

I called the city again and let them know about the situation. Hopefully something will be done because a bad situation has now gotten worse.


Diversion pipe completely silted up. The pipe is about 30 cm in diameter. Very little water gets through now.


Debris clogged storm drain. Water used to flow through here directly into the Don River during a rainstorm. Now it is overflowing into the upper pond.


Failed slope. The land here was once a planting site, now completely buried. Patio stones anyone?


Debris is now being washed into the ponds.

BBQ at the Brick Works

Remnants of bonfire at the Brick Works

I was passing by the Don Valley Brick Works on Sunday when I came across this unpleasant sight on the brick patio in front of the quarry ponds. Apparently night time revellers decided to have an impromptu bonfire using one of the park benches as a fire log.

Just by coincidence the day before, I was talking to one of the employees of the Natural Environment and Community Programs section of Parks and Forestry who have offices at the Brick Works. Apparently a door to their building was inadvertently left open on Thursday or Friday night. Someone entered the building and vandalized all the storage compartments used by the community groups. Fortunately they did not get access to the NECP offices which stores their computers and files or the damage could have been much more serious.

The problem of nighttime activities at the Brick Works has been an ongoing issue for several years. People routinely break into the buildings for raves, parties, or just to take pictures. There is also a slew of graffitti covering both the inside and outside of the buildings. Add to that, broken windows, defaced interpretive signage, and now bonfires, it starts to addup to an expensive and embarrassing mess.

I believe that the presence of a security guard during the evenings at the Brick Works would severely curtail these activities. The cost can be justified by the reduction in expenses to repair vandalism as well as reduce unsightly graffitti.

One could also speculate that the buildings in their current unguarded state might be the target of a fire, intentional or otherwise. In the near future, Evergreen will take over responsibility for the buildings, but if in the interim, nothing is done, all we may be handing over to them is a smoking ruin.

While crossing our fingers and doing nothing may be a cheap solution, the cost of a couple of security guards may be a lot cheaper if it prevents anything untoward happening this summer. Let's do ourselves a big favour and buy a little insurance - not only for the security of the buildings and our city employees but also for some peace of mind.


The buildings are easily broken into when nobody is around to mind the store


Leftovers from a night time party

Evergreen's Plan for the Brick Works

Evergreen has been putting a lot of effort into theire plan for the Brick Works. They have just recently put their plan online and you can view it here.

Highlights of the plan:

• Renovation plans for the buildings
• Discussion of how the quarry park fits in with Evergreen's plan
• Summary of programs to be offered
• Sustainable design features

Evergreen has secured sufficient funding to start their project which will begin sometime within the next year. For anyone interested in the Brick Works, the plan is a must read.

Brick Works Evergreen Interview

I found this video of Annie MacLeod from Evergreen being interviewed about the Don Valley Brick Works project. It's a bit of a puff piece but it provides all the basic information.

I had trouble viewing the video at the Blip TV site but it's available here as well.

Beaver at the Brick Works

Signs of beaver damage



Aha! Who might that be resting in the reeds?


Beaver swimming in the pond

I visited the Brick Works last week and discovered that there has been some tree damage. Upon closer inspection it appeared that it was the work of a beaver. Beavers have been spotted periodically in the Don for several years but the lower Don Valley doesn't provide enough habitat for them yet. They like low lying flat areas with slow-moving creeks so they can build a dam and create a small pond. Unfortunately there aren't too many place like this in the Don Valley. Most of the creeks are in ravines that are too steep and when it rains the flood of water is just too great and too polluted for beavers too cope.

The Brick Works might be suitable but there are too many people and (off-leash) dogs around that makes them skittish. Usually they just visit a place, chew down a few trees and then move on which I think has happened to this guy. After the first day that I saw him, I haven't seen him again.

It's good to see that habitat has improved enough to attract beavers but not quite enough to allow them to take up residence.