Location: 125 Chatsworth Dr, Toronto, ON M4R 1S1
In Fall 2022, Sayeh was contacted by the Principal at Lawrence Park CI about working with the eco club to create a native plant garden. The amazing team at LPCI especially Amalia, the teacher who supported the eco club have made this project one of the most rewarding projects we’ve had with a school. Thank you!
Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute is the example of what can be accomplished when you have motivated students supported by caring faculty. The goal for this project was to teach students how they could grow their own native plants from seed and create a native plant garden.
The students were eager to start their garden before exams started, so the school secured soil and cardboard to create the garden. With a great selection of seedlings from our group, we planted the garden on Monday June 12th, 2023.
Often a critical component of a project is that it’s a participatory effort between all team members, especially at planting time. Originally Sayeh had envisioned the garden in a different location but when she consulted with the students who knew how their schoolmates walked through the space, it was clear that Sayeh’s original location would be trampled by the ‘after school rush”. They suggested this location.
So you may be wondering how the garden is doing 4 weeks after planting?
Some grass has crept up through gaps in the cardboard but the plants themselves have established remarkably well. Normally native plants spend the first year establishing strong root systems so the fact that these plants are even blooming is so heart-warming.
There are seed heads on several plants so the next step would be to teach the eco club members how they can harvest, clean and store seeds. It would be a lovely way to end one year of growing native plants with this amazing school.
