LEAF and TTC partner plant demonstration garden at High Park Subway Station
(October 5, 2010 - Toronto, ON - For Immediate Release) - Today LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests) led members of the local community in transforming a part of the High Park TTC subway station property into an urban forest demonstration garden.
“We are proud to work with the TTC to make the commute that much greener for the thousands of people who pass through this station each day,” said Ms. Gomm, Manager of Volunteers and Community Engagement, LEAF. “The native trees, shrubs, and perennials transform underutilized areas of turf in to beautiful pockets of biodiversity.”
Planted and maintained by graduates of LEAF’s Volunteer Tree Tender Training Program, urban forest demonstration gardens showcase the beauty of native species and help build Toronto’s urban forest. They also provide an opportunity for local residents to play an active role in improving their communities.
“Beyond the urban beautification, these gardens provide essential habitat for songbirds, butterflies and other pollinators,” said Rita Bijons, one of LEAF’s volunteer stewards. “In addition, these native species moderate temperatures, filter air pollutants, and absorb carbon dioxide through their leaves.”
The High Park garden will complement existing gardens at Bathurst, St. Clair, and Old Mill stations as part of an ongoing partnership between LEAF and the TTC. As similar sites are planted throughout the city, LEAF is helping citizens beautify their neighbourhoods and create refuges for wildlife in urban spaces.
LEAF’s Volunteer Tree Tender Training Program and TTC urban forest demonstration gardens are made possible by the generous support of the Toronto Transit Commission, Ontario Power Generation, Sobey’s-Earth Day Canada, the Canadian TREE Fund, the Helen McCrae Peacock Foundation and TIDES Canada Initiative.
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