Those dirty little hands were out in early June helping to make some of our Leaside parks more beautiful and it’s all thanks to the Leaside Garden Society, the City of Toronto Parks Dept., the TDSB and naturally, the incredible Junior Gardeners!
Barbara Robson’s Grade 5 class from Northlea Elementry and Middle School planted the corner green space at Eglinton and Bessborough. Angela Napoli’s Grade 3 class from St. Anselm Catholic School planted Father Caulfield Park, and Jason Chong’s Grade 3 class from Bessborough Elementary planted Trace Manes and Library entrance.
They all look amazing!
Planting close to 2,000 annuals in three days with approx. 70 young students is no simple task. But Rick Hutchings, the LGS director of the Junior Gardeners Program, sure makes it look easy. He’s been doing this for the last eight years, so it’s always well organized and beautifully coordinated. But he gives all the credit to the dedicated LGS volunteers who help and teach the kids as they plant (which Rick also does), to the supportive teachers who understand why this is so important (the teachers credit Rick for making this so easy for them), and to the City crew for bringing the plants and watering them. As for the students, he says, “Three days of planting with these enthusiastic future gardeners gets me so energized. You get such a high from their energy and playfulness. But that’s why we do it.”
When the wise and the innocent, the old and the young, the expert and the novice, the haves and the have nots come together and join hands…the circle is complete.
This is our Leaside community at its best!
