Principal Investigator: Jennifer Foster/Co-Investigator: Gail Fraser.

Funding: SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant.

Term: 2020-2025.

The project unites established researchers from York University with conservation managers from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and students to address pressing issues on Toronto's Leslie Street Spit, one of Canada's most celebrated "urban wilderness" landscapes. It combines innovative methodologies to develop an advanced understanding of human relationships with the Leslie Street Spit and to identify strategies for channeling ecologically and socially sustainable options for the future. It will explore park users' activities, preferences and ideals, with a view to creating policies, plans and designs for the Spit that help protect its ecological attributes.

Website: https://www.rubbletorefuge.com/