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Great Ecology, as part of the Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates team, for Corktown Common, a park in Toronto, Ontario, was honored with a 2016 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Honor Award, in the general design category.

The park is situated on a brownfield, and flooding from the Don River threatened to infiltrate up to 519 acres of Toronto. The park was redesigned to act as a flood barrier and within this design, which incorporates a variety of green infrastructure techniques, are various microclimatic plant zones—including marshes and meadows—intended to attract people and animals throughout the year.

The regenerative ecology of the park specifically serves as a landing point for migratory birds within the urban hardscape; facilitates biofilitration of wastewater that is later used for irrigation; and provides a hub for pollinators.

About the design, the 2016 Awards Jury said:

“A nice design. It’s the anchor of a new neighborhood that’s being constructed. The park is the first gesture. Where before there was nothing, this is now a nicely detailed, ecologically rich area.”