Fighting Island, River island in Ontario, Canada
Fighting Island is a river island in the Detroit River between Ontario and Michigan. The island spans 610 hectares and is the largest Canadian island in this waterway.
Starting in 1918, the Michigan Alkali Company used the island as a disposal site for industrial waste from soda ash and baking soda production. Throughout the early 20th century, millions of cubic meters of factory byproducts accumulated there.
Indigenous peoples first inhabited the island, with artifacts discovered in 1810 leading to its current name.
The island is primarily accessible to visitors through organized educational programs focused on biology and ecology for students. These structured visits provide controlled access to the natural conservation area.
The island was transformed from a disposal site containing 15 million cubic meters of waste into a green space through a restoration project. This conversion involved planting over 200,000 seedlings to revitalize the landscape.
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