In 1982 Sandy Agnew and John Maher jointly founded the Black Creek Conservation Project of Toronto; an association of individuals interested in the preservation and rehabilitation of the Black Creek through community involvement.

The Black Creek Conservation Project is a community based, non-profit, charitable environmental organization that works towards restoring the Black Creek watershed. The Black Creek is a degraded stream in immediate need of aid. It is a major source of bacterial and chemical pollutants to the Humber River, which in turn pollutes the Toronto waterfront.

The Black Creek watershed is the smallest of the five subwatersheds of the Humber River, with a drainage area of approximately 66 square kilometres (TRCA, 1997). The creek arises within the City of Vaughan and flows southwards (roughly following Jane Street), before emptying into the Humber River at the Lambton Golf Course in Toronto, South of Eglinton Avenue and North of Dundas Street.

The Black Creek watershed was once rich in forests, fertile soils and clean water. Over the years however, this landscape has been logged, converted to farmland, and eventually transformed into the heavily urbanized landscape of today. This urban development has reduced the size and quality of the creek, while land clearance, altered drainage patterns, and pollution have degraded the ecological health of the entire watershed.

Concern for the Black Creek finally crystalized in 1982 when, in response to this degradation, the Black Creek Conservation Project of Toronto was established. We work in close cooperation with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, as well as federal, provincial and municipal funders and partners in an effort to restore the ecological health and functioning of the Black Creek ecosystem.

Over the past 28 years, the Black Creek Project has completed numerous restoration and naturalization projects throughout the watershed. Due to these efforts and a wealth of community support, the health of the Black Creek has improved, but much work remains to be done.