Paradise restored – McMaster revives remnant marsh as part of ongoing environmental restoration of the West Campus

The largest wetland at the western end of Lake Ontario has a new filtration system following McMaster’s latest environmental restoration project.

Drainage ditches that once fed into Cootes Paradise have been redirected to a restored marsh on the edge of the West Campus. Roughly the size of two hockey rinks, the marsh will trap sediment, absorb excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous and break down pollutants that were previously draining into the Spencer and Ancaster Creeks that flow into Cootes Paradise.

Located next to McMaster, Cootes Paradise is many things – a 600-hectare nature sanctuary managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens, an officially designated area of national importance for migratory birds, a seasonal fish nursery for Lake Ontario and home to more than 750 plant species – the highest concentration of plants anywhere in Canada.

More than half of Cootes Paradise is composed of a shallow, open water marsh that once extended into what is now the West Campus before construction of the Hamilton-Dundas Highway in the 1930s cut off a section of marsh. That section was further degraded when McMaster began building surface parking lots in the 1960s. Infill was dumped into the marsh and unchecked invasive species soaked up the remaining water.

“We’ve brought a dead marsh back to life,” says Wayne Terryberry, McMaster’s Coordinator of Natural Lands and Outdoor Recreation. “What comes next will be pretty amazing.”

Like Cootes Paradise, the restored marsh will be home to native plants, shrubs and trees. Duck and bat boxes are being added while next to the marsh is a sandy gravel mix that’s ideal for nesting turtles.

The marsh will serve as a living lab, supporting research, teaching and learning for students and faculty from across McMaster. It will also be a space for Indigenous cultural practices and teaching – experts in the University’s Department of Indigenous Studies were consulted on plant species.

The marsh restoration project was fully funded by the Patrick J. McNally Charitable Foundation. Ducks Unlimited was brought in to oversee technical design aspects of the construction and design plan.

The project follows the addition of 11 vernal ponds to the West Campus – five were created in late 2024 with another six more ponds added earlier this year. The ponds act as fish-free breeding habitats for amphibians and insects.

An abandoned railway line running through the West Campus is being converted to a fully accessible trail that will loop around the restored marsh and ponds.

Noah Stegman, a PhD student in Earth and Environmental Science and McMaster’s Coordinator of Natural Lands Restoration and Conservation, led both the vernal pond and marsh restoration projects. “I could never have imagined back in my undergrad that I’d be leading major restoration projects for the university.”

Like the vernal ponds, the restored marsh has already exceeded expectations. “To see how quickly the marsh has started to take off is exciting,” says Stegman. “Restoring a marsh on McMaster’s campus opens up so many new teaching and learning opportunities. We’re also giving back to Hamilton and supporting the environment.”

More restoration work is planned with the goal of having all of Hamilton’s dominant ecosystems represented within a four-acre section of the West Campus, from conifer and deciduous forests to marshlands, wetlands, ponds, creek and upland meadows and prairie grassland.

The restoration of the West Campus is a part of a larger ongoing effort to protect nearly 2,200 hectares of ecologically important land between Cootes Paradise Marshlands, Hamilton Habour and the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton and Burlington. McMaster is among the nine founding partners involved in the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System.

“Think of the West Campus as the neck of an hourglass, with the Dundas Valley and Cootes Paradise at either end,” says Terryberry. “Anything we can do to widen that neck and increase biodiversity will be good for the environment, good for Hamilton and good for McMaster.”

Nature @ McMaster will be organizing wildflower and shrub plantings at the restored marsh this summer.