Native Plant Gardening Workshop at the LEAF Learning Garden

 

The w

orkshop introduced reference ecosystems as a way of comparing garden spaces and conditions to a natural habitat (e.g., apartment balconies become cliff sides) in order to understand what naturally grows under those ecosystem conditions. Other lessons from that evening included attracting pollinators to your garden, common gardening challenges and how to overcome them, as well as basic botany knowledge and plant identification skills. Volunteers had the opportunity to look, touch, smell and sketch a variety of native species in the garden and were able to walk away with a number of handy guides and resources to continue their learning.

 

Personal highlights from the workshop included prompts to engage the five senses in gardening, challenging our thinking on how greenery can provide variety in a garden and a fascinating conversation on whether plant roots can hear. With ample time to answer burning questions, Ryan was a personable wealth of knowledge for the Garden Stewards.

 

Equipped with this new knowledge, our Garden Stewards can continue their work in planting and maintaining our Urban Forest Demonstration Gardens, which are located at five different TTC stations, and the LEAF Learning Garden.

 

Are you interested in learning practical skills to help care for the urban forest? We’re always delighted to create opportunities for our volunteers to explore their interest in caring for the urban forest. The gardens provide a space where they can meet and connect with like-minded people. There are many ways that you can get involved depending on your skills, interests and availability.

 

You can connect with Ryan on his website Botanically Speaking, where he also hosts an inspirational podcast under the same name.

 

Kaja McDonald is the Stewardship Assistant at LEAF.

 

LEAF’s Urban Forest Demonstration Gardens are supported by Ontario Power Generation’s Biodiversity Program and the Toronto Transit Commission.