TRACK 1, DAY 1
From Obstacle to Opportunity: The Bentway Staging Grounds LID Monitoring Project
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. | Hall A
ABSTRACT
The Bentway Staging Grounds, located beneath the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto, is a temporary installation by the Bentway Conservancy. It extends the public realm with experimental gardens that capture stormwater runoff from the highway above to irrigate planters below.
These planters support native flowering species while promoting passive water filtration and retention to help mitigate local flooding. During the 2024 growing season, the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) team at Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) monitored the water quantity and quality management performance of two planters.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Alexus Maglalang, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Alexus is an Environmental Technician with the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) at Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). In his current role, he is responsible for evaluating the performance of low impact development and stormwater management practices through monitoring techniques and stormwater modelling.
Josh Harskamp, The Bentway Conservancy
Josh is a registered architect in the UK and the EU with experience delivering international cultural projects across a variety of scales. He holds a Diploma from the Architectural Association in London, where he lived and worked for 10 years prior to joining The Bentway.
Josh’s primary focus as a professional has been the adaptive re-use of existing buildings and infrastructures in heavily regulated environments like city-centres. His passion is to build design-competency in communities in light of the ongoing climate emergency.