The Rouge Watershed will celebrated next week with a number of different events.

From Wednesday, May 26 to Saturday, May 29, residents can take part in the celebrations initiated by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Rouge Park, Town of Markham, Region of York, Town of Richmond Hill and the City of Toronto.

Opening ceremonies will be held at the Glen Rouge Campground in Scarborough on Wednesday and will be marked with First Nations traditional songs, prayer, smudge ceremony, traditional dances and a look at the First Nations perspective of the Rouge Watershed.

Event organizers believe it is important to celebrate the watershed, which they describe as an “extraordinary resource in southern Ontario,” a natural resource treasured and enjoyed by both residents and visitors.

The Rouge River Watershade spans 336 square kilometres of land and water in Toronton, York and Durham regions. Today the watershed is approximately 40 per cent rural, 35 per cent urban, 24 per cent natural cover and one per cent open water.

However, there are growing concerns over past land use practices and ongoing population growth, which might cause stress to this otherwise healthy watershed, the healthiest of the six Toronto Region watersheds.

Director of Watershed Management Adele Freeman said that members of the community must be involved in protecting, enhancing and celebrating the Rouge Watershed. “The next four days celebrate the cultural, recreational, and natural heritage in the Rouge Watershed and brings the community out to connect and discover the treasures right in their own backyards,” he said in a media release.

The Rouge Park is the largest urban park in North America. The Rouge Watershed includes all the lands that drain to the Rouge River and its tributaries, including the Little Rouge River, starting in the hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine and flowing south to Lake Ontario.