Children's Eco Programs

It’s that time once again! Time to register for our fun filled, action packed, healthy eating but totally tastes good too, garden loving, nature crafting Eco Camp!

You can also sign up for our Children’s Cooking Programs, Edible Cosmetics Workshops and our Tuesday Spring Garden Programs (great for homeschool kids!). Below are the barcodes required for signing up and below that you’ll find our yearly Registration Preparation guide.

While our information here focuses mostly on our programs in High Park, the majority of the Registration Preparation information is transferable to all City of Toronto Recreation Programs. So good luck and get your coffee (or tea!) on for a successful 2018 Spring and Summer Registration session.

Click here to see our extended Call Centre hours so you can check in and find all your important Family Barcodes and PIN numbers!

Registration Preparation 2018

We’re creeping up on that time of year again! That rush of adrenaline, that setting the coffee machine for 6:45 am, that setting of 10 alarms to make sure you’re up in time, time of year again. That’s right 2018 Eco Camp Registration starts at 7 AM on Saturday, March 3rd. Of course it’s also the time to register for any spring or summer recreation programs that take place in Etobicoke/York with the City of Toronto 🙂

Remember registration is open to everyone across Toronto! We break our program registration down by location so our registration staff and computer systems can handle the number of people who want to sign up for all the fun.

So get those fingers ready to hit those redial/refresh buttons and register your campers for Eco Camp! You will also find our Caregiver and tot (4 to 5 years) and child (8 to 12 years) Cooking With Veggies Programs plus our Edible Cosmetics Workshops for 11-15 year olds open for registration on March 3rd.

For those of you wondering how the City of Toronto’s Recreation Program Registration process actually works here’s a little run-down:

• Each district has it’s own registration start date. For Etobicoke/York it’s Saturday, March 3rd starting at 7 am (for other district dates click here). Anyone from across the city can register for a program in that district on the start date.
• You have three options for registering for Rec/FUN Guide Programs. Click here for a description and instructions on how to register for City of Toronto Recreation Programs. For our programs we suggest using the phone (416-338-4FUN (4386) or touch-tone 416-338-0000) or going online in order to have the greatest chance at registering your camper.
• Our available programming space (especially indoor space) is fairly small so our program size is quite limited. We would love to have hundreds of kids join us for Eco Camp each week but there’s only so much Garden to go around. Also note many other Community and Recreation Centres have issues with space and are unable to hold as many programs as they (and the community) would like.
• If you do miss out on registering your camper for Eco Camp we also offer a free  Thursday morning drop-in program throughout July & Aug from 10 am to Noon. So please stop by for a fun filled morning of gardening, singing, nature crafts and games and experience a wee bit of what our programs are all about!

Now that you know the background info, here’s our yearly guide to registering for Summer Camp or any other popular city program. There are a few things you can do to make Registration Day a little easier for you! Here is a list of things to prepare for ahead of time:

1. One of the most important tips we can give you is to fully register for all camps/programs first … then at a later time register for any extended care you might need. There will always be enough room in the Eco Camp (and any camp) Extended Care Program for every camper registered so you can sign up for it at any time.
2. Start by finding your City of Toronto FUN Guide Registration Family and Client Numbers. If you can’t find them or you’ve never registered for a City of Toronto Recreation Program before please call 416-338-4FUN (4386) and a Customer Service Representative can help you (it’s important to do this ahead of time so you don’t waste time on Sat., Mar. 3rd!).
3. Once you are set to register you can print out or write down the barcodes for each program you are interested in. See all of our barcodes in the links above. Keep all of your Client/Family numbers and Barcodes together in a safe (but not too “safe” 😀 ) place for registration day
4. Bookmark the Program Registration Page where you can launch the Online Registration Site.
5. Just before 7 am on Saturday morning (Mar. 3rd) dial into 416-338-0000 (for touch tone registration) or 416-338-4386 (actual human being) and launch the Online Registration Site. This way you can start hitting redial/refresh right at 7am. It will take a few tries … make sure to be awake enough to stop redialing/refreshing when you finally get in! (I’m guessing if you’re signing up for our Sprouts Camp you’re most likely awake at that time anyhow!).
6. Once you’re in the system move quickly but not so fast you make mistakes. Also note that the Online Registration Site will timeout if you leave it alone for too long (and when I say too long … I’m talking less than 5 minutes).
7. Please remember to mark on your calendar what weeks your camper is attending Eco Camp … we often have a number of last-minute cancellations and are unable to fill the spot even though our wait lists are quite long! 
8. Once registered you will receive a Camper Information Package in the mail sometime late in April or early May. This package contains forms that need to be filled out and sent back before camp starts and a Parent Handbook to give you all the info you need to know about sending your Eco Camper to camp. Please fill out the forms and send them back by the date stated on the package!
9. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have questions or kidsgrow at toronto dot ca (spelled out to reduce spam).

A couple other things for your Registration morning 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 2018 is July 3 to 6.
3. Scrap paper, pen/pencil and/or printer for confirmation codes, etc.
4. Don’t forget to write it down on the calendar, once registered!
5. Having someone else around to cook you breakfast while you wait … certainly can’t hurt 😉

Good Luck Everyone and We Hope To See You At Camp This Summer!