First Nations Harvest Social

October 20, 2009
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First Nations Harvest Social (Photo: Kourosh Javidi)

Evergreen Brick Works Farmers’ Market guests had a special treat this past Saturday, October 17: a traditional First Nations Fall Harvest Feast and Social. Jacqui Levalley, an elder from the Toronto community, led a beautiful opening ceremony, which was followed by an array of songs, colourful dances and a harvest blessing.

Matthew Hupfield, the Aboriginal Community Development Co-ordinator for Evergreen, came up with the idea for the Harvest Social.

“The event allows the First Nations community to check out the Brick Works and allows the community at the Brick Works to experience some First Nations culture,” he explains. “What better way to do that than with food, dancing and celebration? People enjoyed the food and certainly got more than just a voyeuristic sample of another culture– they got to experience it.”

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Comments Off | Evergreen Brick Works, Food, Video | Permalink
Posted by Michelle from Evergreen Brick Works

Conversation and Conservation at Downsview Park

October 15, 2009

As a stewardship co-ordinator, I spend a lot of my time in urban parks, working with volunteers who want to get outside and make their city more green.  There is one particular group that reminds me that donating time has many benefits beyond the obvious. For this group it is more than just a chance to meet new people and make a difference–it’s also an opportunity to practice English!

Evening of Stewardship

Getting ready to volunteer (photo: Rolla Tahir)

Volunteers from the English Language Program at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies are a staple at Evergreen events at Downsview Park, and often bring out fresh new faces eager to get down to work. The volunteers love coming out to experience life outside the classroom and practice English at events that are fun, active and social. The team is a mix of young professionals and university students visiting Toronto from across the world, and it would be hard to imagine the Downsview Park stewardship team without their enthusiasm.

ELP Stewardship Team

English Language Program stewardship team from UofT SCS (photo: Rolla Tahir)

Come out to plant and chat with us at Downsview Park, or another site in your area.

Comments Off | Stewardship and Planting, Toronto, Volunteer | Permalink
Posted by Colin from Common Grounds

Running in the Tree Tops

October 9, 2009
Greening school grounds in Japan!

Exploring tree-tops in Japan (Photo: Dr. Ko Senda)

It’s recess and children are playing in a mud puddle and running through the tree tops! No, it isn’t a student mutiny, it’s Tokyo, where the innovative school-ground design of  Japanese landscape architect Dr. Ko Senda is catching on.

I met Dr. Senda earlier this week when he paid the Evergreen Learning Grounds team a visit. Dr. Senda designs daycares and school grounds at Tokyo’s Environment Design Institute. Over the course of two days we learned about his work, discussed design constraints and possibilities, and showed him some of our school ground design work here in Toronto.

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Posted by Sarah from Learning Grounds

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