While performing an excavation project on Toronto’s waterfront, workers unexpectedly unearthed these same single-celled green algae. They had indeed been buried—at least on average—in soil for more than a century! There, heavy machinery was excavating tons of dirt and debris to create a new island—Ookwemin Minising—that would help protect the fragile ecosystem. This project is the next step in a larger restoration initiative that will ultimately see the river restored to its more natural, free-flowing meander. This incredible find—complete with seeds and plant scraps—has the potential to offer great help in today’s ecological restoration efforts.
Shelby Riskin, a soil ecologist at the University of Toronto, looked at the soil samples. These samples turned out to be rich with hardy, single-celled green algae. These algae have been lying dormant in anaerobic soil sediments since well before the late 1800s. They prove their worth by showing their promise to restore ecosystems through the use of native soils.
That construction site was miraculously transformed. And as the machines churned through layers of run-off, buried tar, and old farm soil, new relics began to show their faces. Among the bright green surprises were chains of greencircles, signs of healthy algae, and perhaps chironomid larvae.
Melanie Sifton, a botanist and horticultural specialist who was on the scene, said she was amazed by the discoveries. She recalled that when the project started, the region was barren, “like you were on the moon.”
“When the project started, it was like being on the moon. The space was so just barren, so awful, dusty. It was bereft of any life,” – Melanie Sifton
When work first began, Sifton and her crew would often come across cattails and sedges, signs that communicated the land’s deep biological legacy. That became even more surreal with the later find of the single-celled green algae, which further deepened their impression of what was waiting under the surface.
“To find what we did – it was like finding buried treasure,” – Melanie Sifton
The thrill of these finds came through clearly from everyone working on the project. Home sign up Sifton vividly recounted a scene of delight when he learned which plants had decided to return from their decades-long naps.
“I still think back to the moment when those plants were discovered. It was joyful. I actually cried when I heard about it and when I heard of the care that the machine operators took,” – Melanie Sifton
Riskin argued that this is a crucial start to sustainable ecological endeavors going forward. His research directly informed two separate peer-reviewed studies that first sparked the rebirth of these little critters. As God’s creation reemerged from vibrations of destruction, he commented on how ready the soil seemed to welcome new life.
“The soil was ready to turn on. And that’s what I love so much about it. The microbes, the nutrients, all of those pieces that are so small and outside of the human scope of vision… were ready to make the soil into a thriving ecosystem,” – Shelby Riskin
The project has become more than a flood management tool. It’s turned into a celebration of ecological resilience and restoration. Charles, another expert helping to guide the whole-of-government initiative, pondered how this effort will shape future efforts to create wetlands. He warned that the old way of doing things hasn’t worked.
“In general, humans have actually been very bad at recreating wetlands… [relocated] wetlands have very rarely functioned in the way that we hope they will,” – Charles
Charles pointed out how, in this process, Indigenous knowledge has been beautifully validated. He pointed out the way that those insights really helped advance the goals of revitalization.
“There was a real feeling of validation that Indigenous knowledge could contribute in a very meaningful way to revitalization efforts,” – Charles
The discovery of single-celled green algae serves as a reminder of nature’s resilience and potential for recovery when provided with suitable conditions. Inside them, ancient organisms are coming back to life after being encased for millennia. Their revival serves as an important reminder of the need for more use of native soils in ecological restoration practices.
Sifton finished by sharing her optimism about what this project represents, and should represent moving forward, for other projects in environmental restoration.
“This whole project has become a celebration because who would have thought that underneath meters and meters of contaminated soil were these seeds waiting to come back to life? It’s a reminder to us all of what is possible,” – Charles