All Hands in the Dirt: Montreal Edition

Community taking action in Mount Royal park in 2010 (Photos: Evergreen)

Mount Royal is a beautiful park in the heart of Montreal. It’s host to mature forest habitats and has a unique and varied history, having been carved into being by glaciers tens of thousands of years ago and has played a continuous role in the shaping of the Montreal area as we know it today.

It’s not surprising that Mount Royal has become such a cherished part of the city’s identity. Rising to the task to keep this park beautiful, Les Amis de la Montagne is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1986 and has dedicated itself to the protection and enhancement of Mount Royal though community involvement and environmental education. Evergreen has been fortunate to work with this fantastic group over the last several years!

Community Tree Nurseries Taking Root

Evergreen staff and volunteers building seed beds in Richmond Hill. (Photos: Evergreen)

More than 3,000 tiny trees and shrubs from staghorn sumac to white spruce are holding strong in Evergreen’s first native tree nursery, launched in Richmond Hill’s Phyllis Rawlinson Park last fall. Our second nursery, launched this spring at Downsview Park has 800 thriving seedlings of Ontario’s official tree.

Evergreen created these nurseries to improve the hardiness and genetic diversity of the native plants we use across the GTA. It’s also a chance for us to learn how to grow various native species from seeds and seedlings.

Eglinton West Fruit Orchard

Beautiful mural on Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard's tool shed (Photo: Evergreen)

Picture a fruit orchard, with its neat little rows of pear, plum and cherry trees leafing out in the spring. Imagine pollinators buzzing in and around the blossoms while birds seek refuge on a branch. Now picture this orchard next to the busy intersection of Eglinton West and Allen Road, across from the TTC station.

Believe it or not, this is not mere fantasy. The new fruit trees planted by Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard are taking root as Toronto’s newest urban orchard and are cultivating a new way of looking at our green spaces.

Fortified Nutrition

Hand-crafted iron spikes for historic gardens (photo: Rebekka Hutton)

It’s not often we have to call on the services of a black smith to help launch a food garden, but when it’s the kind of garden that would have been around in the 1820s to feed officers stationed at Fort York, it’s hard to image how it would be possible without one.

Environment is On Fire at UofT. Literally.

A prescribed burn in progress at UTM campus (Photo: Kim Sellers)

The environmental community is so hot at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus that it actually set the campus on fire!

Well, sort of.

On Sunday, April 18, UTM and Evergreen held a very exciting and very safe prescribed burn led by consultants Lands and Forests, as part of the Old Field Habitat Restoration Project.

Tree Tactics at Downsview Park

Thanks in large part to the generosity of volunteers, a decommissioned military base is turning into an urban oasis. (Photo: Evergreen)

Over the last four years, as Evergreen volunteers have been working to steward various sites within Toronto’s Downsview Park, crews around us were excavating a nine-acre stormwater pond called the Great Lake. Meanwhile, FoodCycle’s urban farm took root, and this spring, we’re set to launch the Evergreen community tree nursery.  A former decommissioned military base is being transformed into a vibrant community green space thanks to the dedication of local volunteers and collaboration between many different groups.

A Legacy for Ontario’s Communities

Celebrating Earth Day with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (Photo: Ontario MNR)

As the early spring buds transform into lush green leaves, 100,000 young trees and shrubs are helping to transform parks and open spaces across the province of Ontario.

Over the course of the last two years in an effort to make our towns and cities more livable, 345 community groups and over 10,000 volunteers from Scarborough to Iroquois Falls came together in neighbourhood parks and open spaces to make a difference thanks to a partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Evergreen.

In the Field for Planet Releaf

Youth taking action today for the forests of tomorrow. (Photo: Evergreen)

A dispatch from Evergreen Common Grounds’ Caitlin Langois:

I was recently reminded that Canadians are stewards to 10% of the world’s forests. I still grapple with the great responsibility and immense gift this represents to us.

This important fact came up during a recent workshop during which I met the world renown Dr. Jane Goodall, heard her infamous chimp call, and witnessed 50 enthusiastic youth from the Jane Goodall Institue’s Roots and Shoots program come together for a day of learning about forest issues and how to take action today for the forests of tomorrow.

Apply Now for the Rebuilding Nature Grant

Help rebuild nature in your community. (Photo: Peter Thompson)

We are now accepting applications for the Rebuilding Nature Grant Program, supported by The Home Depot Foundation and led by Evergreen. These grants support environmental stewardship projects in communities across Canada. Grants are available in amounts of $1,000, $3,000 or $12,000 – plus $2,000 in The Home Depot gift cards – to cover the costs of tools and equipment, native plants and trees, and other expenses.

Deadline is May 21. To learn more and download an application form and guide, click here.

No Plot is Too Small: Community Workshop March 31

Come find out how you can green your community! (Photo: Lisa Fisk)

No Plot is Too Small: Community Stewardship 101
In partnership with the Town of Richmond Hill, Evergreen invites you to participate in our upcoming workshop!

Wednesday, March 31  6–9pm
Rouge Woods Community Centre, Aspen Room
110 Shirley Drive, Richmond Hill

This workshop will offer inspiring examples, tips and tricks, and practical strategies to help you get involved in local greening projects—or even start your own! Individuals and community groups will benefit from sharing ideas about community greening initiatives and advice to ensure project success.

Topics include:

• Where Do We Start? A step-by-step advice for undertaking stewardship projects.
• Learn From Experience: Inspiring case studies of stewardship activities from across Canada.
• Cost: Free!
  

Sandwiches and refreshments will be provided and space is limited. Reserve your space by Monday, March 22 by contacting Lisa Fisk via email (lfisk@evergreen.ca) or by phone at 416-596-1495 x226.

Visit Evergreen’s online calendar of events to learn what’s happening in your area.