Scenes from Adopt-A-Tree Kick-off

An enormous THANK YOU to all who came out to adopt a newly planted tree, and for working through the rain to spread a dumptruck load of mulch around them!

Special thanks to Urban Forestry to Urban Forestry for planting 80 new trees around the park (yes - 80!!), to City staff for providing mulch and tools, to Councillor Palacio for the park tour, to Park People and LEAF for hours of help with mulching, and to Tre Mari Bakery and Frank's Pizza for feeding us!

Treats for later

Volunteers from LEAF and Park People

LEAF taught us how to properly mulch a tree - see the donut?

Finishing planting of the ceremonial tree

LEAF, Park People, Councillor Palacio, FoEP

Here comes lunch - THANKS GIORGIO!

Adopt-A-Tree Kick-off - June 22, 2013

Kite Fest...and Trees!

With winter finally - FINALLY - over, what better way to celebrate spring than to head outside and fly a kite?

Many thanks to all who joined us at the park. We saw a lot of fantastic kites and had a fabulous time meeting more families from the neighbourhood-at-large.

Special thanks to Arleen Hurdon for running a pocket kite workshop, and to our volunteers Ellen & Krista for making pinwheels with the kids and organizing a great afternoon!

Pocket kite workshop in full swing

Getting the pocket kites up in the sky

Click here to view more photos!

In other park news:

We are delighted to announce that as part of the City of Toronto's Strategic Urban Forest Management Plan, Urban Forestry will be planting trees in Earlscourt Park later this season! This initiative, run in consultation with local city and community groups, is designed to increase the canopy cover as well as beautify our green spaces and increase biodiversity.

But summertime can place significant stress on young trees, whose root systems are not yet developed enough to withstand summer's high temperatures and periods of drought.

Friends of Earlscourt Park has been asked by Park People and LEAF to run an Adopt-a-Tree program to ensure these trees' survival. We are looking for neighbourhood volunteers who will give "their" tree regular watering, mulching and light weeding from early summer until mid-autumn.

Interested in becoming an adopter? Drop us a note at friendsofearlscourtpark@gmail.com. Stay tuned for news!

Park Talk: Creating Community Gardens in Parks

Earlscourt Park is home to a wonderful community garden run by The Stop Community Food Centre. According to The Stop: 

Every year, we harvest approximately 2,500 lbs of organic produce at our community garden in Earlscourt Park, everything from lettuce, kate and radishes to zucchini, eggplant and pumpkins, The produce is split evenly between our gardeners and programs like our food bank, drop-in and community kitchens programs, and is an important source of veggies for people in our community. 

Walk past the garden in spring, summer or fall and you will notice that it's literally buzzing with activity - it attracts bees, butterflies and other pollinators that are so critical to our ecosystem.  It is also a wonderful learning tool for our children as they watch the garden through the season from planting to flowering to harvest.

It would be wonderful if all parks could reserve a corner for a food garden, yet only about half of Toronto's parks feature one. 

Park People, together with The Stop, FoodShare and the Toronto Community Garden Network will be hosting a talk next week on creating community gardens in parks. We encourage all parks groups and interested citizens to attend!

When: Thursday, February 7th, 2013, 6:00 to 7:30pm
Where: Bickford Community Centre, 777 Bloor St. West, Room 205

UPDATED: Park People has posted notes from this meeting. Please visit: 
http://parkpeople.ca/content/news-reports/how-make-it-easier-create-community-gardens-parks 

Park Talk Nov 29 - Planning Events in Parks

Great communities are built around parks and green spaces; they provide natural spots for people to gather together.

Festivals and large events bring a lot of excitement to a park, but it's the smaller, local events that build community - skating parties, hot chocolate nights, spring planting days, birthday parties, pot-lucks,  community picnics. 

Yet, it's surprisingly difficult to organize small events in Toronto's outdoor spaces and gain the city's approval - something that became very clear to us and other park groups this season when trying to organize our Pumpkin Parades. 

In talking with other "Friends Of" groups and Park People, we learned that the policies around similar gatherings are unclear enough that even the most seasoned City Councillors have difficulty navigating them. Were permits needed? Insurance? Did City Staff need to be present? Would Solid Waste handle clean-up, or would private arrangements need to be made? Was permission even needed from the City, or could groups just go ahead on their own?

Like many other wards, we in Ward 17 are fortunate to have a City Councillor who is very supportive of community-building events. But we have to wonder - what can be done to reduce the number of hurdles that stand in the way of bringing people together in our parks?

Park People and Parks Forestry & Recreation Staff are hosting a meeting on this topic later thus week. We encourage all parks groups and interested citizens to attend!

When: Thursday, November 29, 2012, 6:00 to 7:30pm
Where: Frankland Community Centre, 816 Logan Avenue
Details: http://www.parkpeople.ca/events/2012-11-29t230000-2012-11-30t003000/how-can-we-make-it-easier-host-community-events-parks