Yaremko-Ridley Property

Public access

The volunteer Iroquoia Club of the Bruce Trail Conservancy maintains the Bruce Trail that traverses the escarpment forest and passes through the wetland complex on this property. Please stay on the trail when visiting the property. More information on the Iroquoia section of the Bruce Trail ...

Map

The 64-hectare (160-acre) Yaremko-Ridley Property, located just outside of the Town of Milton, contains mixed escarpment forest with stunning glacial valleys, rolling landscapes and numerous rock outcroppings and deposits. The marl (soft calcium carbonate) deposits on the valley floor, which were mined in the early 20th century, are recognized as part of an industrial archaeological site. The resulting pits form part of a provincially significant wetland complex. The property was generously donated to the Ontario Heritage Trust by John Yaremko and John Ridley in 1972.

Heritage value

The Yaremko-Ridley Property is recognized as part of two provincially significant Life Science Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) – Crawford Lake-Milton Outlier Valley and Lowville Re-Entrant Valley – and hosts the provincially significant Crawford Lake and Calcium Pits Wetland Complex (provincially significant wetland). The glacial valley and marl deposits have been designated as a regionally significant earth science ANSI, and the property is also acknowledged as an important groundwater recharge area within the Halton Region Calcium Pits Wetland Complex. The variety of physiographic features and available water allow the property to sustain a large number of nationally, provincially and locally rare native flora and fauna species – from rare orchids to endangered salamanders.

The early 20th-century marl mine on the property is registered as an industrial archaeological site.