Residents and environmentalists from Newmarket, Aurora and beyond are mourning the passing of beloved advocate David Tomlinson.
He passed away at age 90 Sept. 8 at North Bay Regional Health Centre. The man famed for gardens at his home was a well-respected landscape architect who gained renown advising the government on environmental and land use issues.
Former Town of Aurora councillor and Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard said our communities have lost a great person, one whom he relied on for advice as a politician and Liberal cabinet minister.
“David’s influence and impact on landscape architecture, on how governments regulate development and the environment, it goes beyond the borders of Aurora and Ontario,” Ballard said. “It really is the passing of a giant.”
Tomlinson was well respected in his profession in both England and Canada and was made an emeritus member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects in 1999. His work in preserving natural heritage garnered him an Ontario Lieutenant Governor Heritage Award in 2011. His ongoing advocacy for conservation also prompted the Town of Aurora to name a nature reserve after him.
Ballard recalled the reverence some of his own staff had for Tomlinson. He said as Ontario’s minister of environment, he would seek Tomlinson’s input on issues of the day.
“He was looking for environmental solutions that would work, that were doable, and what he would propose was always quite reasonable,” Ballard said. “He was more than someone who said, ‘don't cut trees down,’ or ‘leave those fields unplowed.’ He was someone who really knew how you had to manage, especially in an urban environment, the role we play to balance development with ecology.”
Tomlinson was also well known for his family garden, Merlin’s Hollow. Alongside his wife, Dierdre, they curated a garden that would draw in people from across the province and beyond, open for five days each season.
“They were an example of their passion, of David’s passion for the environment. A combination of order and randomness,” Ballard said. “There was a certain sense of peacefulness and quiet and just awe at a life’s work that he had undertaken. David did a lot of the planning, Dierdre did the maintenance. It just represented a life’s commitment to the environment.”
The gardens closed in 2021. Last year, Tomlinson moved to North Bay to be closer to family.
Aurora officials also recognized the passing.
“I offer condolences to the Tomlinson family on the passing of David Tomlinson,” Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas said on social media. “He has truly made a lasting impact on the Town of Aurora and will be missed.”
Former Aurora Mayor Phyllis Morris posted about his passing on the Facebook group Nature Aurora.
“Aurora has lost one of its very best,” she said. “He was such a special soul. No doubt many hearts are heavy at the news of his passing. To say he’ll be missed is a massive understatement. He is irreplaceable!”
No services are planned for Tomlinson, with cremation already taking place. You can leave a memory or tribute to the family at paulfuneralhome.ca or 705-724-2024.
Ballard said Tomlinson had big ideas and fought for the environment, but believed that humans could do better and find a way to co-exist.
“That was always one of his themes. It’s never too late, we know what to do, we can coexist,” Ballard said. “But we have to limit human activity. It’s just big ideas and a great communicator, and I’m really sad we’ve lost them.”
