If you’ve attended one of Evergreen’s many activities and events then Mike Derblich might look familiar. Mike is one of our volunteer photographers who helps us beautifully capture our human and wildlife visitors. He joined our team over a year ago and we recently had a chance to sit down and talk to him.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Little bluestem (Photo: Garrett, Jerry @ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant Information Network Image Gallery (website))
Although mostly buried under snow these days, Schizachyrium scoparium has its roots deep underground, sometimes growing to around 2 m.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Beverley & Bill at the Welcome Desk (Photo: Sarah Weaver)
Bill Wilson and Beverley Auburn are two of the friendliest faces that you are likely to see when you visit Evergreen Brick Works. That’s because Bill and Beverley make up part of our Volunteer Welcome Host team. Despite only starting in June 2010, both have left lasting impressions on the Evergreen Staff and the many people who visit the site on a daily basis! Recently we asked them about their volunteer experience at Evergreen to learn more about what motivates them.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Staghorn Sumac (Photo: Bill Moses)
Holding onto its familiar fuzzy red berries throughout the winter, Rhus typhina is an significant shrub on the winter landscape in Ontario and eastern Canada. Part of the cashew family, Staghorn Sumac is an important winter food source (high in vitamin C) for foxes, squirrels, cottontail rabbits,white-tailed deer and a number of bird species while being an emergency winter food for about 300 species of songbirds. This shrub which favours upland sites is drought and salt tolerant and grows in a range of soil types including gravel, reaching up to 8 m high.
To find out more about Staghorn Sumac and other native shrubs in our native plant database.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Jack pine (Photo L: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database; R: Bill Moses)
It’s been immortalized in Tom Thomson’s famous painting, known for its unique shape and ability to thrive in the poorest of conditions and has been used by the First Nations peoples as food and medicine for centuries. The jack pine is a native species that has become a symbol for Canada—our pioneering nature and our harsh but beautiful landscape.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Camp Games (Photo: Mike Derblich)
Evergreen is currently recruiting for Assistant Day Camp Counsellors for our March Break Camp and soon, for summer camps in July and August.
This past August, Sathvik, known at camp as Hawk, volunteered at the Green City Adventure Camp for two weeks, engaging with campers to discover and explore nature at Evergreen Brick Works and the ravines. A high school student at Victoria Park Collegiate Institute looking to help at a camp, Sathvik was captivated from the start and can’t wait until next summer when he can get involved again.
What did you like about volunteering with day camp? I got to learn so much and helped the campers learn too. I’d never had this kind of opportunity to connect with nature, outside of a little gardening at home. It felt more like fun than work and it was amazing to be in this incredibly scenic site right in the middle of Toronto! The only downside was the mosquitoes. It was also great to see how some shy campers or those hesitant to get dirty were right in there with everyone by the end, including me. There was a lot of team-building going on and I also got to see animals and plants in nature.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Richmond Hill Students in the Field (Photo: Evergreen)
Jennifer Bronfenbrener, Julia Kostin, Aryan Heidari and Aline Nguyen are students at Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School who have been coming out regularly this season to Phyllis Rawlinson Park in Richmond Hill to plant trees, support the community tree nursery and help with the annual Harvest Festival. They are dedicated, enthusiastic young people who inspire others to make a difference in their world. We talked to them recently about their volunteer experience:
What do you like about volunteering: We can directly help the environment, benefit the community and the town we live in while having a great time doing it!
Memories: We’ve especially enjoyed helping at the Harvest Festival and getting more students from our school to get involved. The fresh bean salad we made was a big hit too. We were also amazed at the transformation at the tree nursery on one stewardship day this year.
Why volunteer: We love to plant trees, reduce our ecological footprint and help save the environment. It’s great to take action.
When you’re not volunteering: We’re in our last years of high school, and find time to hang out with friends and play sports.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Serviceberry (Photographer: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)
A showy shrub throughout the year, Amelanchier alnifolia, known by many other names is a terrific addition to the urban garden. Found in Canada from Quebec westward to BC and even in the Northwest Territories, serviceberry (Saskatoon berry) has white flowers in spring, edible berries in June and showy foliage in the fall. Adaptable to part shade, drought and a variety of soil types and attractive to wildlife what gardener wouldn’t want one? Find out more about Serviceberry and other native shrubs on our native plant database.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Liz Stewart and Isabel Wiesenfeld (Photo: Ingrid Mayrhofer)
Isabel Wiesenfeld and Liz Stewart have spent the last four months helping bring Evergreen Brick Works to life in new ways through geology and art. Isabel has been busy researching and writing text for the geology exhibits while investigating new interactive approaches to engage and educate our visitors. In the meantime, Liz curated a photo exhibit about Evergreen Brick Works – past, present and future – portraying the site’s layered history, now on display in the Centre for Green Cities!
Why did they get involved? Both said the energy and innovation at Evergreen right now was a big appeal. For Liz, she was between jobs and recognized the valuable experience of learning new skills in a new industry with new people. For Isabel, she’s applying her university education to a real-life situation.
What’s their experience been like? They’ve really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere in the office and the opportunity to meet new people. For Isabel, bridging the gap between research and the exhibit has been really valuable as she hopes to work in a museum. For Liz, telling a story through pictures has been a great project to develop.
A few memories: “The adventure of finding out which desk I’m using each time I’m in – one time I had to move three times!” ”It was also surprising to see the face of an Evergreen staff person on a George Brown College TTC ad.” ”Evergreen seems to be everywhere!”
What about their other lives? Liz recently started a new job at Harbourfront while Isabel works at making casts of bones and hopes to go to grad school. Cooking, reading and browsing bookstores also fill their time. We wish them the best of luck and look forward to staying involved and seeing what happens.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Some of the Campus Roots club in the field (photo: Campus Roots)
Last summer, a group of environmentally minded students at University of Toronto, Mississauga (UTM) started a new club, Campus Roots. Seeing the need for a campus club focused on naturalization efforts, they started working in partnership with Evergreen to host tree planting days, invasive species removal and more. To get students outside and engaged, they also plan fun events like nature walks, workshops and tours. We recently spoke with one of the student leaders, Angie Sanchez.
Why volunteer? I always tell people it’s a great way to meet people, to network. I’ve become so much more aware and been able to help others get outside and connected to nature. I like the way we can initiate a project and then make it reality.
What’s been your most memorable project so far? Last spring, we tackled our biggest project yet, a Butterfly Habitat Enhancement Project. We planted two species of butterfly-friendly plants, Joe Pye weed and swamp milkweed, in an area that already had other attractive plants like dogwoods. It’s also pretty cool when in only two hours of invasive-species removal, we can protect dozens of trees.
What have you learned through your volunteering? We’ve been learning so much as we go – I can now identify species as I walk around campus and am pretty good at looking things up when I’m not sure! Evergreen has also helped teach us a lot and given us many practical ideas. Being one of the leaders, I’ve learned so much about working with people and about leadership.
On getting people involved: On the one hand, I’ve been surprised by how much people want to help out – after they’ve come to one event, they often want to come back. They are so amazed at all the natural space on our campus that many don’t notice as they rush between classes. The biggest challenge is getting people motivated to come out for the first time.
What’s ahead for Campus Roots? This fall, we’re hoping to pick from some of the apple and pear trees around campus . Over the winter, we’re going to be planning for even more next year – maybe some fruit-bearing shrubs.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
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