Century-old creatures springs back to life in Toronto waterfront restoration

Construction crews working on Toronto’s massive waterfront revitalization project have uncovered a stunning ecological miracle, creatures and plants buried for over 130 years have burst back to life.

The discovery began when heavy machinery operators noticed unusual green shoots emerging from excavated soil at the Don River site, where workers are creating new wetlands as part of one of North America’s largest urban renewal initiatives.

University of Toronto researchers confirmed the extraordinary finding when they examined soil samples under microscopes and witnessed century-old water fleas, worms and plankton swimming and feeding as if they had been dormant for days rather than decades.

“We’ve been able to resurrect ancient life that shows what this wetland was like prior to urbanization,” said Dr. Shelby Riskin, an ecosystem ecologist leading the analysis.

Riskin further added: “Seeing these creatures actively moving after more than a century is beyond anything we imagined possible.”

The revival occurred in soil layers dating back to the 1890s, when Toronto’s industrial expansion buried natural wetlands under 25 feet of fill material, including the area that would become the Port Lands industrial district.

The findings have major implications for urban restoration projects worldwide, demonstrating that native ecosystems can maintain remarkable resilience even after generations of industrial use and environmental damage.

Toronto’s $1 billion revitalization effort has already converted barren lands into three hectares of coastal wetland, with the unexpected biological discoveries providing both inspiration and practical guidance for future conservation work.