This is your official invitation to our Birthday Party Bash! We’re throwing a fun-filled Garden Birthday Party on Sunday, June 2, 2013 from Noon to 4 pm here at the Children’s Garden in High Park and we want you there to help us celebrate! 

Click here for more information on our events flyer

It’s hard to believe we’ve been around for 15 years! It feels like just yesterday when we started our first garden program in High park and our first hike on Toronto’s Discovery Walk Trails.

In the summer of 2000 we ran our first week of Eco Camp as a pilot project. We now offer four different camps, two of which run for 8 weeks of programming throughout the summer. Plus with the addition of our Children’s Teaching Kitchen we now offer environmental education programs throughout the year.

The High Park Children’s Garden was also a one year pilot project (we seem to have a pretty good track record with these ). It was created back in the spring of 1998 in an old, rarely used parking lot. The community had safety concerns about the south end of High Park so instead of increasing the police presence in the park the City decided to try something different.

They wanted to build something that would bring the community back to the area. The City decided to add a Children’s Garden and children’s programs to the old parking lot and Picnic Shelter … I think it’s safe to say … it really worked! We now have over 5000 visitors to the Children’s Garden every year and that’s just for our programs. Many folks enjoy a walk through our Garden and kids love to run through the “maze” of the ABC garden beds.

Here’s the ultimate “before” shot It seems so bare!

As we said … the Garden was a pilot project. It’s almost as if they didn’t think we would be around long enough to warrant digging up all the asphalt. Each bed has a small amount of parking lot cut out underneath for drainage … this means all they had to do was pull out the beds and pave in the missing pieces if the programming didn’t work out.

Even though they thought we wouldn’t last … we are very glad they left the asphalt in place! The paved surface and our raised beds make the Children’s Garden fully accessible. We love the fact that anyone can come and visit our Garden to learn about growing (and eating ) organic fruits and veggies!

As the years progressed, our programming grew. We used more and more of our garden harvest for cooking programs and feeding folks during our events. This meant lots of dishes done in cold water and creative cooking set-ups.

Sadly that tree is no longer there … but we do have a nifty new Children’s Teaching Kitchen sign you should check out next time you stop by!

Over the years many parents have been astounded by the willingness of their children to do dishes at the Garden (they’re often astounded by the fact they eat vegetables there too!). It must have been the novelty of the Rubbermaid bin set up we used.

For our events we would have to drag our “kitchen” around in 10 – 15 of those Rubbermaid bins back and forth to the Rec Centre we used to cook the food, to the Garden the next day to serve the food and back to our office near King and Strachan to clean everything up and store it … whew!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake anyone?

Not only was all this travelling back and forth a waste of time and gas, we also found that our Youth Cooking Program Participants, who helped us cook all this food, missed out on the important steps of growing and harvesting the fruits and vegetables they cooked with. It was also very time consuming for our Program Instructors and Camp Counsellors when they cooked with veggies during our school and camp programs.

So in 2004 an idea came to mind … an idea to add a kitchen to the Children’s Garden site. The idea was to use the original footprint of the shelter for the building and create a healthy, environmentally sustainable space for everyone to enjoy.

After seven years of research, planning … and good old City of Toronto red-tape, our straw bale Children’s Teaching Kitchen was finally under way! Check out From Caterpillar … for the full Kitchen construction story.

With the addition of this wonderful Kitchen we now have the opportunity to show children and community members the whole growing and cooking process of our food.

We’ve started many new cooking programs and children are learning to eat more veggies than ever before!

We are so happy to be able to provide our community and the City with such great programs and we thank you for all of your support and enthusiasm over the past 15 years!

See you at the Party

It’s a gorgeous spring day here in High Park! We really can’t complain about our work location when there are days like today (no matter how many times you get snowed on, hailed on or rained on trying to run across to the washrooms! ). This weather has also brought on the Cherry Blossoms and folks are excited to experience the spring tradition of Sakura Hanami (Cherry Blossom viewing). 

At this point the Cherry Blossoms are just starting to open. The Nature Centre thinks that this weekend should be the best time for Sakura Hanami. Check out their great Cherry Blossom Tracking pages here and see what we had to say last year at this time here.

We also have our new and returning Program Instructors and Camp Counsellors joining us for some fun and informative staff training this week. I have to say … Our staff are pretty darn awesome!

On that note – we have a few spaces left in our Spring Garden & Hiking Environmental Education Programs for school groups so book your program soon! Our School Programs are linked to the Ontario Curriculum and include a broad range of interactive activities for students to enjoy.

We love spring here in High Park. It’s such a magical time with something new to see every day! Alas unfortunately I don’t think this poor little fella is going to be met with as much enthusiasm as the Cherry Blossoms …

Once the area around High Park was settled forest fires were a thing of the past. For over 100 years the Black Oak Savannah in High Park went without the rejuvenating  effects of a forest fire. High Park had become a manicured City Park with lawns and a concrete edge around Grenadier Pond. Over the past few decades naturalization efforts by the Forestry and Natural Environment crews within the City have worked to naturalize certain areas of High Park including Grenadier Pond and the rare Black Oak Savannah.

These efforts include starting a series of controlled burns throughout the Savannah habitat. The areas to be burned rotate each year. Often these areas have a number of invasive plant species that are unable to survive the burn process. The controlled burns are low, controlled fires. Trees supporting local wildlife are given a wide berth and the fire itself isn’t strong enough to damage the larger trees. After a burn the native plants in the area grow stronger and healthier helping to protect this rare habitat for future generations to enjoy!

It’s that time of year, things are a bit dark and dreary and thoughts of spring gardens are popping into everyone’s minds. Most of the locally grown fruits and veggies we eat now are roots, squash, carrots and cabbage. These are the veggies that store well through the winter months and while they keep you full and warm, it’s nice to have something a little fresher to liven up your meals. There is something fun and tasty you and your kids can do to revive your taste buds and even add a little zing to your meals

How many folks have hit the farmers market and eaten half a bag of sprouts on the way home? I know I can’t be the only one! Sprouts are a great way to enjoy fresh local food in a short period of time. Children love to help grow them and many will eat them straight from the sprouter (which can be as simple as an old spaghetti sauce jar!), the larger seeds and beans make a great snack. Most folks know the two most famous sprouts found in oriental dishes and salad bars around the world. Tiny little alfalfa sprouts can be added to salads, sandwiches and top many a casserole. Good old mung bean sprouts are the ones found in chow mien and egg rolls and a variety of stir fries.

While the traditional stuff is all fun and tasty there are hundreds of seeds out there you can sprout. Radish and mustard can add a little heat to your salad or sandwich. Sprouted chick peas can make a great hummus (check out the chocolate avocado mousse while you’re there!). Barely sprouted raw nuts like almonds taste heavenly and are even more nutritious than their dormant cousins. Sprouting beans before cooking can make them tasty and easier to digest.

Sprouting is pretty simple and requires just a few minutes a day to produce a great little harvest.

1. Soak your seeds overnight in your jar – Make sure your jar or other sprouting container is squeaky clean 
2. Drain and let sit on the counter. You can use cheesecloth (best for bigger seeds) or a fine plastic mesh to cover your jar (also squeaky clean!) . They need air but can use a little humidity too so just leave the mesh on the jar (secure with an elastic band). Makes rinsing quick and easy … You can tip them upside down in your dish rack to keep them from sitting in any standing water.
3. Give them their first rinse after work/school, then rinse again the next morning. If you’re going with some really fancy sprouts you may have to rinse again before bed too. Make sure you rinse thoroughly every time!
4. Repeat until your sprout is the desired length or size.

There’s also a slightly fancier method of growing small lettuce, chard, and mustard to a size that’s called Microgreens. These microgreens are also easy grow and a fun project for your windowsill. It doesn’t require much light and gives you a little extra boost of taste and nutrition to your meal.

Sprouting seeds is tasty and fun. It’s also a great, inexpensive way to get some seriously nutrient rich veggies into little tummies. Things always taste better when you grow them yourself!

Fun little fact – Sunflower seed sprouts … still taste like sunflower seeds but are even better for you.

It’s time to start thinking about this year’s Spring Programs and Summer Camp registrations! The first day of registration for Spring Programs & Summer Eco Camps is Saturday, March 2nd, 2013. Registration opens at 7 am and many of our camps book up fast. Make sure to be ready with our Summer Camp Barcode cheat sheet and a strong cup of coffee For Spring Cooking Program information click here.

Our Spring Cooking Program information is available on our Cooking With Veggies page! So here’s a little reminder of last year’s Registration Preparation Post

Are you ready?  It’s that time of year once again!  Time to hit the phones/internet/Community Centre and register your child for summer camp programming!

Registration Start Date:

High Park Eco Camps - Saturday, Mar. 2, 2013 starting at 7 am

We know it’s a little nutty trying to phone in or go online at 7 am on a Saturday morning (why is it always Saturday for the West end?!) to register your kids for camp.  So we’ve prepared a little checklist for everyone to work from that includes a list of our barcodes and the themes to each week of camp.  Hopefully you will now have everything you need for crack of dawn re-dialing and page refreshing.

Just try to keep conscious enough to NOT hit refresh or hang up when you finally get through (I’m pretty sure we’ve all “been there, done that” at one point in time!)

Checklist:

1. Coffee, Tea or hot beverage of choice (for us non-morning folk … put everything out the night before so you can wake up just before 7 with caffeine available  For morning folk … please tell me your secret!  How do you do it!?)
2. Calendar and/or Datebook – The first week of Camp in 2013 is July 2-5 (Canada Day is on a Monday this year and most Recreation Facilities, except pools, are closed)
3. Have your Family and Client #’s ready for online registration or touch tone phone registration (speeds things up when talking to a Customer Service Rep. too) … Call 416-338-4FUN (4386) a few days ahead to get your #’s or set up an account if this is your first time registering for a City program (Mon. to Fri. 8:30 am to 4:30 pm)
4. Download our handy 2013 Camp Barcodes table for all your Barcode needs!  If you print it out please note it’s sized for Legal paper
5. Scrap paper, pen/pencil and/or printer for confirmation codes, etc.
6. Here’s the link to the registration site.  You can browse programs ahead of time and gather what other barcode information you need.  The phone # for touch tone registration is 416-338-0000 and follow the voice prompts … to register with a customer service representative call 416-338-4FUN (4386)
7. Don’t forget to write it down on the calendar, once registered!
8. Having someone else around to cook you breakfast while you wait … can’t hurt either

All of this applies to Spring Program Sign up as well! Good luck with your registrations and we hope to see you this summer at one of our fun nature and garden programs.

Plus don’t forget … March Break Eco Camp is happening soon. Sign up and tell a friend

We hope you enjoyed your holidays We’re back at work with a new March Break Eco Camp to look forward to! We can’t tell you how excited we are to offer you this great program. 

For years folks have been asking us about March Break Eco Camp, however, with only Picnic Shelter #16 to keep everyone covered, we’ve had to say no. Fortunately our beautiful Children’s Teaching Kitchen is now complete and its a warm and cozy spot for campers to enjoy … they can even whip up a few crafts and snacks too

This March Break your Eco Camper will be hiking, exploring nature, playing games, creating crafts, cooking veggies and enjoying everything High Park has to offer. There are only a few spaces left so sign up soon!

Program Barcode:  2090964
Location: High Park Children’s Teaching Kitchen
Date: March 11 – 15, 2013
Time:  9 am to 4 pm (extended care available Before 8-9 am (2099605 – $13/week) and After 4-5 pm (2099655 – $13/week))
Registration: Call 416-338-4FUN (4386), Click here for online registration or head to your nearest Recreation Centre to sign up.
Cost:  $162.00 per camper

If you have any questions feel free to call Keely at 416-392-1329 or email kidsgrow@toronto.ca. You can also find more information on the March Break Eco Camp page.

Registration for our March Break Camp starts on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7 am. It’s an action packed week of nature exploration, cooking, crafts and a garden project or two. You can register for all classes online through the City’s FUN Guide or by calling 416-338-4FUN (4386). You can also drop by your local Community or Recreation Centre and sign up.