Creditview Wetland (Mississauga, Ontario)

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A natural gem in the heart of Mississauga

Creditview Wetland is Mississauga's most unique natural heritage feature. It is located north of Eglinton Avenue West, east of Creditview Road, 5 km west of City Hall.
The Creditview Wetland is a naturally occurring wetland system. It is situated at the northern end of a shallow, north-south oriented, tear-shaped depression created some 12,000 years ago, at the time of glacial retreat. The wetland is fed by surface water from an area that spans 11 hectares.

The Creditview Wetland contains some of the last remaining peat land in the Region of Peel. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, scientists from the Royal Ontario Museum have studied peat and sediment cores from the wetland and have estimated the age of the basin as 11,700 years. Arctic plant fossils, dating from the period just after glacial retreat, have been found in the peat.

Special attributes of the Creditview Wetland include:

* only peat land in Mississauga
* highest ranked provincially significant wetland in the City
* community of tamarack, chokeberry, highbush blueberry and tall ferns is rare in Ontario
* nesting locations for the Virginia rail and hunting ground of the short-eared owl
* only Mississauga location for the following 21 native plants



Trees: Tamarack; Shrubs: Chokeberry, highbush blueberry, smooth gooseberry, swamp rose, swamp blackberry and winterberry; Ferns and fern allies: Stiff clubmoss, royal fern, Virginia chain fern; Graminoids: Sedges (Carex brunnescens, Carex canescens, Carex diandra) Forbs: Beggarticks (Bidens discoidea), false pimpernell, marsh St. John's wort, tufted loosestrife, violet (Viola mackloskeyi), watermeal (Wolffia arrhiza and Wolffia borealis) and willow-herb (Epilobium leptophyllum) - Adapted from information prepared by Kaiser Consulting of Mississauga

A study of the Creditview Wetland is now underway. The wetland was acquired by the City of Mississauga in 1998. It provides a rare natural habitat for vegetation and wildlife within the urban boundaries.

Consultants have been retained to assist in the preparation of a conservation plan, which will include some guidelines for sustaining the long term health of the wetland, as well as providing recommendations for some enhancements and possible limited access points for observation and educational purposes.