Phyllis Rawlinson Park, Richmond Hill, Ontario

Sowing the Seeds of Change

Residents of Richmond Hill, Ontario, just north of Toronto, will soon have a new experiential outdoor learning site thanks to the restoration efforts at Phyllis Rawlinson Park. "This project encompasses so many aspects of community greening," says Lisa Fisk, the Richmond Hill project manager for Evergreen Common Grounds. "Along with our restoration work we're focusing on local food through community gardening and workshops," says Fisk. "You can come here, experience urban agriculture and explore nature, and then take away solutions to implement at home."

In 1995, Phyllis Rawlinson, a farmer and horsewoman, passed away, leaving her 89-acre horse farm to the Town of Richmond Hill. In 2001, the town opened Phyllis Rawlinson Park to fulfill her wishes that the farm be used to conserve, maintain and protect the natural environment. In partnership with other local groups, Evergreen started restoration efforts there in 2003.

Throughout the spring and summer of 2009, Common Grounds staff and more than 150 community volunteers from groups including Goldman Sachs, Charles Howitt Public School and high school students doing the Youth Challenge with Helpmate Volunteer Services pitched in to work on the site. With the support of the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation, EcoAction and the Town of Richmond Hill, this dedicated team planted more than 1,000 native trees, shrubs and wildflowers, most which were established alongside streams and ponds in efforts to maintain water quality and expand the current riparian buffer. They also removed large masses of invasive buckthorn and planted vegetables in the on-site community gardens.

In addition to continuing restoration work, future plans for the park include establishing a native tree nursery that will provide healthy, local trees saplings for Evergreen's restoration projects in Richmond Hill, specifically within the Oak Ridges Moraine. This fall, students from Charles Howitt Public School, a Richmond Hill homeschool group and community members helped to plant 1,500 seedlings the new nursery. "We have also planted native wildflowers in a propagation plot, which will allow us to collect the seeds for restoration efforts across the city," says Fisk.

To get involved in Richmond Hill stewardship, contact Lisa Fisk.