Weston Family Parks Challenge Past Recipients

This innovative partnership between the City of Toronto and Earth Rangers will create a thriving wetland ecosystem focused on turtle habitat restoration at the pond in Franklin’s Garden on Centre Island. As a new Toronto hub for the Earth Rangers’ programs, Franklin’s Garden will also host environmental education for school groups, recreational visitors and local residents. The long-term sustainability of the project will be ensured through its strong partnerships and community engagement.

This project will engage residents in nature-focused activities and improvements in Broadacres Park, located in Etobicoke’s West Mall neighbourhood. Inspired in part by an innovative partnership with the City of Toronto’s Community Policing Program, local youth and families are at the centre of a process to develop community cohesion through green space revitalization and environmental projects. With support from The Weston Family Parks Challenge, A Tale of Two Parks will lay the groundwork for a comprehensive plan for a nearby Toronto Community Housing green space called West Mall Park.

The Weston Family Parks Challenge is supporting FoodShare Toronto and the Flemingdon Health Centre’s Community Grown Flemingdon: Vibrant Market Gardens and Community Owned Spaces in Flemingdon Park. As part of the City’s Community Engagement and Entrepreneurial Development (CEED) Garden pilot project, this initiative will test a new model for urban agriculture in hydro corridors by transforming under-utilized green space into a thriving community hub. FoodShare’s collaboration with local partners and the City will ensure the project’s long-term sustainability. In a dense, high-rise neighbourhood, this project will lay the foundation for a community-based urban farming model that could be replicated in cities across Canada.

Located in the Humber Arboretum, the Gardens for Nature Project will demonstrate how residents and community groups can successfully plan, create, and maintain gardens that support thriving populations of birds, butterflies, and other wildlife species. Illustrating that urban habitat creation efforts at any scale can provide meaningful benefits to birds, biodiversity and the environment. Gardens for Nature will engage diverse communities and train volunteer habitat stewards with the support of the Weston Family Parks Challenge.

The Weston Family Parks Challenge is supporting Malvern Family Resources’ Morningside Heights Community Farm. As part of the City’s Community Engagement and Entrepreneurial Development (CEED) Garden pilot project, this initiative will provide residents in Scarborough with opportunities to grow organic food locally and to develop vibrant public space in an under-utilized hydro corridor. With an outdoor learning classroom and food market space, the farm will also offer opportunities for hands-on-learning and community economic development. The project will engage children, youth and families in nature-focused activities for years to come.

A nature-focused educational environment and activity hub for students with complex disabilities and the greater community, the Aptus Teaching Landscape in North York is an enhanced learning green space that will include a fruit orchard, edible garden and mini-arboretum. Through the Weston Family Parks Challenge, education and stewardship opportunities will engage students and local residents in environmental programs as well as complement the City’s recreational improvements to an adjacent park.

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is providing a grant over the next three years to the Black Creek Community Farm project. The funds will be used to restore woodlands, create a food forest and gardens, and provide community programming. “The farm is an exciting project that transforms a previously hidden piece of land into an incredible natural asset for the Jane-Finch neighbourhood and the residents of Toronto”, said Camilla Dalglish, Director of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. “We are delighted to support this innovative partnership between the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and Everdale that will transform this site and revitalize the community’s connection to nature.”

The Toronto Region Conservation Authority’s San Romanoway Outdoor Revitalization Project will transform lawns surrounding three apartment towers into vibrant community green space and serve as a model for similar tower communities. An orchard, vegetable gardens, and native plants and trees will increase biodiversity and connect the community to nature. In a densely populated neighborhood, a landscape skills training program and a small market will create income opportunities for residents. The results of this public, private, and non-profit partnership demonstrate how innovative solutions can be found to revitalize community green space.

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is supporting Bringing Back Nature to William Burgess School with a grant to transform the schoolyard into a natural community gathering point for the entire neighbourhood. The funding will complete a multi-year effort that involves a partnership between the school, parents, the city councillor, and several non-profits who have been working for three years to bring their vision to life. The project will include a new natural playground, discovery trail and improve natural landscaping. “We’re happy to add The W. Garfield Weston Foundation as another partner in transforming William Burgess School into a green oasis for our community” said Alexandra Maric Jones, director of the Bringing Back Nature project at the school. “This generous gift from the Weston Foundation will allow us to complete the vision of a natural community gathering place which we’ve been working towards for 3 years.”

The Weston Family Parks Challenge is supporting Friends of the Rouge Watershed’s Youth and Community Natural Area Study and Stewardship project. Through an innovative partnership with the Toronto District School Board, students will explore natural systems in designated Nature Study Areas on school grounds. Youth will increase their connection to nature by participating in field trips and stewardship events in various parks in Scarborough. The result of this public, private, non-profit partnership will demonstrate the impact of engaging youth in green space conservation.

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is supporting an innovative and collaborative partnership in Regent Park to engage the community with the City of Toronto’s newest park. The contribution of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation will support community engagement efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of this new park space as part of the revitalization of the Regent Park neighbourhood. “The generous contribution of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation will ensure this new green space in the Regent Park neighbourhood will be off to a successful start when it opens in 2014” said Liz Curran, Community Food Centre Manager at CRC. “The funding being provided by the Weston Foundation will ensure that the local community is engaged with the wonderful new amenities in this park, which will become a community hub for all who live in the area.”

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is supporting improvements to natural surroundings at Ritchie Parkette with a grant provided through the Weston Family Parks Challenge, a big boost to this small park setting. The Rotary Club of Toronto, the Friends of Ritchie Parkette, and the Toronto Department of Parks, Forestry & Recreation will use the grant to rehabilitate the parkette’s natural environment, introduce wildlife education and programming.

Roseneath is a popular hub for families, young adults, seniors and other members of the community. The parkland was purchased by the City of Toronto approximately four years ago following the previous owner’s attempt to redevelop the site which caused the local community to protest and save the park. The project, in partnership with Arts for Children and Youth, focuses on enriching the park through coordinated eco-action and eco-art projects including a garden shed, an eco-art mosaic (community-built), eco-art workshops, tree plantings, flower plantings and erosion control. “We are very grateful of this support from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation”, said Kasia Briegmann-Samson of Friends of Roseneath Park. “This investment will help us to strengthen the community’s connection to nature by maximizing the “green” factor in a local park space surrounded by concrete.”

The Alex Wilson Community Garden’s 20th Anniversary Restoration project will connect residents to nature in a changing and intensifying downtown community. In preparation for the garden’s 20th anniversary, 43 native species of grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees will be planted, improving habitat for birds and pollinators. This unique and successful partnership model will sustain another 20 years of volunteer stewardship and could be an inspiration for other projects around the city.

The Jane and Finch Boys and Girls Club and Green Change have formed an innovative partnership to launch Pathways to Park 8: Oakdale Park. This pilot project will test a new model for investing in community-led environmental rehabilitation of under-utilized parks, ravines and open spaces. In a densely populated neighbourhood, this initiative will bring together a wide range of partners to improve 

green space and toprovide programs to connect youth and residents to nature. This model has the potential to inspire the transformation of green spaces adjacent to other Boys and Girls Club locations in the Jane and Finch community.

The Weston Family Parks Challenge is supporting the second phase of the TRCA’s ongoing naturalization of the Gatineau Hydro Corridor in Scarborough. This phase is part of the larger Weston Family Butterfly Meadow project with a vision to build and naturalize a greenway trail connecting the Lower Don River Trail to Rouge Park. Building on the 88-acres of naturalization to date, diverse partners and local community members will work together to plant a 25-acre native wildflower butterfly habitat. Through education and stewardship programs, community members will be encouraged to connect with nature, take active ownership of the space and maintain it for years to come. See also: Scarborough Centre Butterfly Trail.

For Youth Initiative’s Ki Bimaadiziwin means, “The Land is the Good Life,” in Anishnaabemowin-Ojibwe. This project involves an innovative partnership between For Youth Initiative and Naadmaagit Ki Group (NKG), with additional participation by the TRCA. The Weston Mount Dennis community will have an opportunity to learn about an aboriginal approach to stewardship by improving natural habitat at six sites along the Humber River. This innovative new model will promote long-term community engagement in the stewardship of nature.

Agincourt Community Services is launching the Chester Le Diverse Community Garden Project. This initiative will expand the existing garden and connect newcomer populations to nature through innovative environmental programs in four different languages. Public, private and non-profit partnerships will sustain the garden and the nature-focused programs for years to come.

Toronto and Region Conservation’s (TRCA) Scarborough Centre Butterfly Trail Phase I will be supported by The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Weston Family Parks Challenge. Over the next three years a grant will be used to plant a native wildflower butterfly meadow along a 3.5 km stretch of hydro corridor in central Scarborough which includes new recreational trails for residents to enjoy. See also: Gatineau Hydro Corridor Revitalization Phase II.

The Rexdale Community Health Centre’s Panorama Park: The Learning Garden Hub project will bring together innovative partners to engage local youth and residents in hands-on education programs in the community garden at Panorama Park. In a densely populated neighbourhood, this project will provide jobs, youth training and park stewardship opportunities. This initiative demonstrates the impact that nature-focused programs and events can have on connecting communities to their green space.

The Weston Family Parks Challenge is supporting MacGregor Park, From Obscurity to Radiance, an innovative partnership between the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club and the MacGregor Park Art Club. Education and stewardship programs will help transform this underutilized park into vibrant community green space. Local youth and community members will engage in hands-on environmental programs in three new teaching gardens. This project will demonstrate the impact that nature-focused programs and events can have on connecting communities to their green space.

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is supporting the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee and FoodShare to transform R.V. Burgess Park into an outdoor natural classroom in the heart of one of Canada’s most dense and diverse neighbourhoods. The funding from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation will enable new Canadians to learn and be inspired about conservation and healthy living and open a gateway to exploring the vast ravine system in the Don Valley. “R.V. Burgess Park is an essential part of the Thorncliffe Park community, and the support of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation will bring an appreciation for this essential green space to members of our community” said Sabina Ali, Project Coordinator at the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee. “Neighbours will participate in every aspect of the natural environment, including planting, stewardship, clean-ups and education, and will have a new appreciation for conservation and healthy living as a result.”

A Park of Many Paths is a one-year project to establish new green infrastructure on the grounds of Mabelle TCHC in Etobicoke. MABELLEarts will work with landscape architects, artists, community leaders and local residents to construct and plant new rain and community gardens in the Mabelle Park. The rain gardens will consist of native plants and shrubs that will serve to divert storm run-off water away from sewers and into the often-dry Mabelle Park. The community garden will host native edible plants such as wild leeks, garlic, and mint to both increase the variety of native flora in the park and to provide a basis for some of MABELLEarts’s community engagement and educational activities. “This support from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation is critical to this innovative project on a community housing owned greenspace,” said Leah Houston, Artistic Director of MABELLEarts. “It will help us work with community members of all ages and backgrounds to transform a neglected greenspace within a high-density community housing complex into a dynamic, natural park and creative community hub.” 

Humber Arboretum’s Colonel Sam Smith Park Improvements and Programs will bring together diverse partners such as the City of Toronto, Friends of Sam Smith Park, and Citizens Concerned About the Etobicoke Waterfront to improve wetland habitat and create a new outdoor classroom. Environmental programs and stewardship opportunities will connect youth and community members to nature by raising awareness of the importance of providing and maintaining natural areas for birds and other wildlife. Public, private and non-profit partnerships will ensure the long-term sustainability of the project, enhancing one of Toronto’s most popular birding destinations for future generations.

High Park Nature Centre’s Outdoor Urban Restoration Space (OURSpace) will bring together innovative partners to create a nature-focused outdoor classroom. Through hands-on education opportunities, High Park Nature Centre and the community will restore an under-utilized area of the park back to the original oak savannah ecosystem. Public, private and non-profit partners will enable the long-term sustainability of the project, facilitating the larger vision of a leading urban nature hub in the historic Forest School building in High Park.