High Park, Scarborough Bluffs, the Humber Valley, the Port Lands.  These are among the special places of Toronto.  Each is a unique ecosystem within the busy urban region. Even though Torontonians think of the city as almost entirely built up, savannah or wetlands are only a subway ride away. Special Places explores the changing ecosystems of the Toronto area over this century, looking at the environmental conditions that influence the whole region and at the surprising range of plants and animals you can still find in many of its natural spaces.

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Betty Roots and Donald Chant are both Emeritus Professors, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto. Betty Roots was also Director, Life Sciences Division of the Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada. Conrad Heidenreich teaches in the Department of Geography at York University.

The Royal Canadian Institute's Special Places: The Changing Ecosystems of the Toronto Region unlocks the doors of Toronto's many secret gardens. ...Special Places is far more than a benign statement of scientific facts about the Toronto region. It successfully presents both a tool and a challenge for local policy makers and land developers to incorporate into the future development of Toronto. -- Nature Canada ... ideal for anyone in the Greater Toronto Area with an interest in the local environment. ... timely ... easy to read. -- Barry Kent MacKay, Toronto Star This visually and intellectually attractive volume presents an exquisitely designed natural history of Toronto's metropolitan area. Elements of the dynamic urban ecosystem are woven together, including vital human and natural environmental components, creating an enlightening depiction of the value of the region's natural places... A valuable book for academic audiences. -- M. Evans, SUNY Empire State College, Choice It is a pleasure to witness how well editor-in-chief Betty I. Roots and the editors Donald A. Chant and Conrad E. Heidenreich have succeeded in bringing together not only a team of highly qualified specialists, but one that shares essential scientific and convictions. I very much enjoyed reading and learning from this fine book. It has a reader-friendly layout and is clearly written. As one would expect of a volume commemorating such a venerable scientific institution as the Royal Canadian Institute - a brief history by Conrad E. Heidenreich appears at the end of the book - this is a thoroughly professional and beautiful publication. That it contains a wealth of maps, charts, photos, and helpful drawings is not surprising, but that text and images are united and enhanced by a very attractive book design deserves special mention. Obviously the editorial team and the contributors had the full commitment and professional support of the UBC Press. Special Places endears itself further to the reader by ending not only with a sober assessment of the precariousness of the 'Evolving Urban Ecology,' but also with some cautiously optimistic conclusions of we continue to care about our 'Special Places. -- Lothar Honnighausen, Canadian Literature 184, Spring 2005