Natural Environment
Natural Environment
Natural areas help reduce the impacts of climate change by:
- Forests and agricultural soils remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
- Green spaces provide protection from storms, flooding, and erosion, and
- Wetlands filter and regulate water supplies.
The Durham Community Climate Adaptation Plan recognizes that protecting and enhancing our natural heritage systems is important as it plays a critical role in our resilience to climate change.
Climate Change Impacts on the Natural Environment |
Urban development, agriculture, and aggregate extraction put stress on our natural systems. The impacts of climate change help to compound these stresses. Groundwater and surface water are impacted by reduced volumes, drought, loss of stream habit, flooding, and warming of surface temperatures. Aquatic systems are impacted by warming summer stream temperatures which make it unsuitable for many fish species, lowering water levels and flows, increasing stream erosion, urban flooding, spread of invasive species, more pollution and nutrient loading, and warmer winters that threaten survival of fish and fish eggs. Terrestrial systems are threatened by urban development while being vulnerable to extreme temperatures. Development and paved surfaces limit their natural pervious cover, loss of habitat connectivity and fragmentation limits movement, while reduced forest canopy decreases habitat. |
Climate Action Through Nature-Based Solutions |
Nature-based solutions offer long-term, sustainable solutions to cope with climate change mitigation and adaptation challenges. A key tool is landscape restoration including tree planting. Since trees produce oxygen and sequester carbon, they can improve air quality, increase resilience of ecosystems, provide flood protection, increase soil fertility, and reduce heat island effects.
The co-benefits of planting trees and other nature-based solutions include:
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LEAF Backyard Tree Planting Program |
LEAF is a local not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the urban forest. They offer a number of tree-related programs for Durham residents. The cost to homeowner’s ranges between $150 and $200. This price includes a site consultation to select an appropriate species, a 5 to 8 ft native tree and the planting service. Native shrubs are also available. There are some minimum space requirements that the backyard must meet. For more information on their programs, please call them or visit their website at yourleaf.org. |
Source Water Protection |
Learn more about Source Water Protection in Durham Region. |
Conservation Authorities |
Learn more about Conservation Authorities in Durham Region. |
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