I am a student at Niagara College in Recreation and Leisure Services. I had chosen the Children’s Garden and Exploring Toronto Program as my end of the year placement.

My experience here was very positive. It was very rewarding and I learned a lot more than I expected to. I was able to participate in the hikes as another leader and take part in the gardening exercises both here and at the Waterfront location. Through all of my gained knowledge I was able to teach it back to the public, even when my family came to walk around the park I gave them a successful tour. During the day when the school groups had come I was able to be on my own andteach them something about the theme of the day. I watched the children enjoy the program as much as I did myself. There was a variety of different activities and games thatwere created by us and then implemented. My favourite was instincts for survival! All of the activities we did for the children had meaning and were based on their curriculum topics. The staff are incredibly friendly and made me feel so comfortable and welcome. I was a part of the team in no time!

I came to this placement with not much experience with gardening or knowledge about High Park and I will leave feeling like an expert. The different ages of school groups that came to the park made my day that muchbetter. I was able to experience leadership in a variety of different ways every day. This placement gave me a chance to come out and be a leader and teach children about different aspects of the park including taking them through the different eco systems (which is incredible!) I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave it my all.

Thank you Children’s Garden and Exploring Toronto Programs for giving me a great experience!

Alana