After a year of unprecedented weather, including flooding and extreme heat, now more than ever we must try to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Small actions at the community level can make a big difference. To recognize Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22, the City is hosting a series of Earth Days events from April 8 to June 7.
You can participate in family-friendly eco-crafts, plant trees in local parks, drop by a repair hub at Hazel McCallion Central Library to repair damaged household items or Bradley Museum to repair textiles and practice environmental stewardship by helping with a park cleanup. Get involved and learn how your actions can make Mississauga more sustainable and climate change resilient.
Event details
What
Earth Days events in Mississauga from April 8 to June 7.
Enjoy eco-crafts and a book club
- Discuss your favourite non-fiction books at the Earth Day Book Club: Let’s Talk Non-Fiction at Hazel McCallion Central Library on Tuesday, April 8 from 7 to 8 p.m.
- Enjoy family-friendly Earth Day Stories & Crafts at Cooksville Library on Saturday, April 19 from 3 to 4 p.m.
Don’t trash it, repair it
- Bring ripped or damaged clothing items to be repaired at the textile repair hub at Bradley Museum on Saturday, April 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Drop by the repair hub at Hazel McCallion Central Library on Saturday, April 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with everyday items that need repair such as bicycles, electronics, clothing, toys and small appliances.
Recycle clothing and electronics
- Donate clothing and electronics at City Hall and select community centres from Monday, April 14 to Sunday, April 27.
Keep our green spaces clean
- Join Mississauga Parks staff for a group litter cleanup from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 at select locations.
- Or volunteer anytime to pick up litter around your community with friends, family and co-workers.
Plant trees for climate resilience
- Support the One Million Trees project by participating in tree planting events from Saturday, May 3 to Saturday, June 7 at select locations in Mississauga.
Who
All Mississauga residents interested in participating in an Earth Days event.
Where
The events take place at various locations. Registration is required for certain events. To register, visit mississauga.ca/earth-days. Repair hubs are drop in on a first-come, first-served basis.
Become a recognized Nature Steward
Nature lovers rejoice! Mississauga is launching a new program, Mississauga Nature Stewards at Home, encouraging residents to naturalize their yards to help wildlife, reduce the impacts of climate change and create a healthy, diverse ecosystem.
Residents’ yards must:
- Have at least five native plant species that support pollination
- Have native plants cover at least 75 per cent of the naturalized area
- Be free of harmful or invasive plants
- Be pesticide and herbicide free
To join the program, residents must register their naturalized yard online. Staff will review the photographs provided during registration or visit the yard to confirm that it meets the criteria. If a resident’s yard qualifies, they will receive a free yard sign recognizing their stewardship.
Learn more at mississauga.ca/earth-days.
Parks Community Development will be hosting a Spring Park Clean-Up at Serson Park on Saturday, April 26th, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Volunteers will be provided with a safety talk at the start of the clean-up. Garbage bags and gloves will be provided to all participants.
Registration via Eventbrite, is now open.
In addition to this event, volunteers are always welcome to host their own park clean-ups in the city. Please sign up using the link here and Parks Community Development will support by providing bags and gloves, as well as coordinating the pick-up of the bags from the park.
The City of Mississauga is planning a controlled burn at Jack Darling Memorial Park and Lorne Park Prairie. The exact date is weather dependent and will be confirmed 24 to 48 hours prior to the burn.
The City has contracted trained professionals from Wildfire Specialists Inc. to conduct the burn and has developed a detailed burn plan to ensure safety of staff, contractors and residents in neighbouring properties. Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services along with other City staff will be on site throughout the burn.
What
A safe and controlled burn to help maintain the tall-grass prairie at two Mississauga parks.
Where
1180 Lakeshore Rd. W.,
Mississauga, ON
1070 Queen St. W.,
Mississauga, ON
When
Anytime until beginning of May, weather dependent.
Who
- Parks, Forestry and Environment staff
- Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services staff
- Wildfire Specialists Inc.
Safety and important information for neighbourhood-area residents
For nearby residents or visitors, controlled burns are nothing to worry about – in fact, they are safe and essential. The process helps maintain the parks’ tall-grass prairies, an ecosystem that is home to rare grasses and wildflowers. Controlled burns are needed every three to four years to help regenerate tall-grass prairies and remove invasive plants. Prairie grasses are dormant at this time of the year, so there is no threat to prairie plants and wildlife.
Park closures
For safety reasons, the parks (including the leash-free area) will be closed to the public before and during the scheduled burn. They will reopen once clean-up is complete. Closure signage will be posted 24 hours in advance and neighbourhood residents will be notified.
Safety tips
To help keep the area safe during the controlled burn, residents are asked to:
- Avoid the area surrounding the parks.
- Keep windows closed and consider staying indoors if living nearby.
- Adhere to temporary signage in the area.
- The burn should be between 10:30-5:30 p.m. Smoke may appear between 11-2:30 p.m.
- Report any fires outside of the controlled burn area to 911.
For more information about the controlled burn, please contact 311. To learn more about controlled burns and for updates, visit mississauga.ca/prairie-watch or follow Parks, Forestry and Environment on X, Facebook or Instagram.
Since 2012, the Forestry section has regularly completed controlled burns at Jack Darling Memorial Park to help maintain rare tallgrass prairie habitat. These burns have proved successful in restoring the prairie. In 2022, the remnant prairie at Lorne Park was also added to the burn schedule. The burns are completed every 3-4 years with the last burns completed in 2021 and 2022. As a result, a burn is scheduled for spring 2025 at both locations.
Tallgrass prairies once covered over 40,000 ha of land in Ontario, including a large proportion of Mississauga, but less than three percent (3%) of this habitat remains in Southern Ontario. By protecting these remaining areas, we help preserve biodiversity and our natural heritage. The prairie is threatened by invasive species and controlled burns are an effective way to maintain the habitat and support rare grasses and wildflowers that grow there. The controlled burn will be scheduled to take place between mid-March to early-May 2025, with exact date(s) determined based on weather conditions (ie. wind speed and precipitation). The entire burn process will take approximately 4 to 6 hours over the course of 1 to 2 days.
The controlled burn will be completed by Wildfire Specialists Inc., a company with over 20 years of specialized experience in tallgrass prairie restoration and management through controlled burns. Forestry and Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services staff will be on site with the contractor throughout the burn process. Residential homes adjacent to the site will receive direct notification regarding the burn, and temporary signs will be erected in both parks prior to the burn to inform park users of temporary park closures.
Controlled burns will continue on a maintenance schedule of every three to four years, augmented by annual maintenance practices. This will ensure the ongoing preservation of prairie habitats in these parklands.
Imagine Mississauga: Your Vision, Our Shared Future
The City of Mississauga is inviting residents to help shape the future by contributing to the refresh of its Strategic Plan. This important document will guide the city’s growth, address challenges, and set priorities today and into the future. From housing and climate action to transportation and arts, your input will help create a shared vision for a vibrant and inclusive Mississauga.
How to Get Involved:
- Share your ideas by completing the online survey at mississauga.ca/imagine
- Meet City Ambassadors at local events, community centers, and museums to provide feedback. Upcoming dates in Ward 1 include:
- Sunday, March 16 at Port Credit Arena, 11 am-4 pm
- Wednesday, March 19 at Mississauga Seniors Centre, 9 am-2 pm
- Saturday, March 22 at Port Credit Arena, 11 am-5 pm
- Friday, March 28 at Mississauga Seniors Centre, 9:30 am-1:30 pm
- Attend a free speakers’ event this spring featuring experts in equity, climate action, and urban mobility (registration required).
Key Focus Areas:
The refreshed Strategic Plan will center on eight themes, including housing affordability, climate resilience, mobility innovation, economic vibrancy, and inclusive community building. Join us in shaping Mississauga’s future. Visit mississauga.ca/imagine and learn more and share your vision today!
Project Background
The City of Mississauga (the City) has completed a Schedule B Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Study for erosion control and restoration of Cooksville Creek south of Lakeshore Road.
The City recognizes that this section of Cooksville Creek has been impacted by recent storm events and high lake levels and is in need of rehabilitation. Plans also considered the deteriorated condition of the adjacent city trail through Helen Molasy Memorial Park that sits above the east bank of the creek, as well as the neighbouring properties which experience ongoing drainage issues.
Study Completion
The Study has examined this section of Cooksville Creek and Helen Molasy Trail along with the associated natural resources to identify existing problems, potential risks, and opportunities for watercourse restoration and drainage improvements.
Through the Class EA process, various alternative solutions were developed and evaluated by the Study Team with input through public and agency consultation. The preferred watercourse erosion control strategy includes extended channel restoration works through the use of vegetated buttress bank protection treatment with embedded armourstone retaining walls. The preferred drainage restoration strategy includes the hybrid drainage solution involving the replacement and enhancement of the drainage infrastructure associated with the Helen Molasy Trail.
A Project File Report (PFR) documenting the planning process has been prepared and will be available for a comment period between February 24th 2025 and March 28th 2025 on the City’s project webpage:
https://www.mississauga.ca/projects-and-strategies/environmental-assessments/cooksville-creek-erosion-control-south-of-lakeshore-road/
Should a member of the public request a hard copy of the report, the City will make arrangements for delivery of the PFR. If you have any questions or comments regarding the study, please contact the Project Managers listed below by March 28th 2025:
Greg Frew, P.Eng.
City Project Manager
City of Mississauga
300 City Centre Drive
Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1
(905) 615-3200, ext. 3362
Greg.Frew@mississauga.ca
Robert Amos, P.Eng. Consultant Project Manager
Aquafor Beech Limited 2600 Skymark Avenue, Mississauga, ON L4W 5B2
(416) 705-2367 Amos.R@aquaforbeech.com
In addition, a Section 16 Order request may be made to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP or Ministry) for an order requiring a higher level of study (i.e., requiring an individual/comprehensive Environmental Assessment approval before being able to proceed), or that conditions be imposed (e.g., require further studies), only on the grounds that the requested order may prevent, mitigate or remedy adverse impacts on constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights. Requests on other grounds will not be considered. Requests are to include the requester contact information and full name.
The Section 16 Order request should be sent in writing or by email by March 28th 2025 to both contacts below with a copy to Greg Frew at the City.
Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2J3
minister.mecp@ontario.ca
Director, Environmental Assessment Branch
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 1st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5
EABDirector@ontario.ca
This notice signals the Notice of Completion for this Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, a study which defines the problem, identifies/evaluates alternative solutions, and recommends a preferred design in consultation with regulatory agencies and the public. The study has been undertaken in accordance with the planning and design process for Schedule ‘B’ projects, as outlined in the “Municipal Class Environmental Assessment” document (as amended in 2023), which is approved under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act.
Personal information is collected under the authority of the Environmental Assessment Act and will be used in the assessment process. With exception of personal information, all comments shall become part of the public records.
This notice issued on February 24th, 2025.
February 11, 2025
Public engagement and education activities
The City is launching a new public engagement campaign to seek the public’s ideas and input on eight key priorities identified by City Council. Residents can share their feedback through these activities:
- Visit mississauga.ca/imagine to learn more about the project and complete a survey to share your ideas and contribute to the fabric of Mississauga’s future.
- Engage with our City Ambassadors to share your opinions at various events, community centres, arenas and museums in your neighbourhood.
- Speakers event (spring): Be inspired by leading experts in equity, diversity, inclusion, climate action and urban mobility at this free special event (registration in advance will be required).
Imagine Mississauga guided by your vision
Imagine Mississauga is about creating a collective vision that reflects the hopes, needs, and aspirations of every resident. This visionary blueprint will steer our city’s growth, resource allocation, and response to both present challenges and future opportunities. It’s a commitment to creating a Mississauga that resonates with all who call this municipality home.
Key themes for the Strategic Plan
As we imagine the next chapter of Mississauga’s story, the City is focusing on eight central themes and will be engaging with residents on the following:
- Reimagining mobility: Envisioning innovative transportation solutions to reduce congestion and enhance connectivity.
- Climate resilience: Imagining a greener, more sustainable Mississauga for generations to come.
- Housing for all: Creating solutions for accessible, affordable housing that fosters diverse communities.
- Wellness reimagined: Visualizing a city where personal and public wellbeing flourish through enhanced services and programs.
- Fiscal innovation: Imagining smart, sustainable financial strategies that support our city’s growth and stability.
- Inclusive Mississauga: Creating a city where diversity is celebrated, and every resident feels a sense of belonging.
- Economic vibrancy: Nurturing an economy that attracts investment, inspires innovation and creates opportunities for all.
- Arts and culture: Cultivating a vibrant creative environment that celebrates diversity, enriches community life through artistic expression and positions Mississauga as a cultural destination.
Learn more, get involved
Your imagination is the key to unlocking Mississauga’s potential. Be part of this transformative journey by sharing your ideas at mississauga.ca/imagine.