In a dusty rectangle in one of Toronto’s most dense urban neighborhoods, community volunteer Amy Sutherland reveals the space where a new community garden will bloom. The Thorncliffe Family Garden is the latest in a series of enhancements to a previously neglected park at the heart of the Thorncliffe Park community.

R.V. Burgess Park is undergoing a renaissance ignited by the imagination and energy of Amy and fellow members of the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee.

Amy Sutherland

“The park is really like a village square,” she says. “It connects the school, the library, community centre, apartment buildings, and the shops.”

The community is no small village – its high rise apartments are home to about 30,000 people. The local elementary school is Canada’s largest, with close to 2,000 students, she notes. Named one of the world’s major “arrival cities” by Globe and Mail journalist Doug Saunders, Thorncliffe Park is a destination for new Canadians from around the world.

Largely hidden from view from the surrounding roads, the neighborhood’s central park – R.V. Burgess — had fallen on tough times. A popular wooden playground had been dismantled due to insurance concerns and not replaced. Dirt paths cut through the grass, revealing the park’s place as a pedestrian crossroads, but proving slippery and muddy when wet.  A children’s summer splash pad had deteriorated and its water feature malfunctioned. The few older park benches were in poor shape and the park maintenance shed and other features had been vandalized.

Amy and five other local moms felt the neighborhood deserved better; they got together as a committee to start the change process and “get things done.”

“It was a matter of drawing attention to these issues, and making the right connections with community partners,” she says.The group approached the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department to address infrastructure issues and also applied successfully to the Trillium Foundation for funds to support park improvements. Thorncliffe Neighborhood Office provided meeting and office space.  Local residents volunteered their support.  Foodshare provided information and connections, and a community group at Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park provided inspiration.

Today, the park’s infrastructure is dramatically improved and its village-square potential is a reality. Kids swing from upgraded playground equipment, footpaths are paved, and the splashpad and water fountain are good to go.

On a warm summer’s Friday night, residents can sample Samosas, Biryani, Shawarma and other world foods, and purchase clothing and jewellery from more than a dozen mostly-female vendors.

“The Friday night Bazaar is a way for moms to operate a home business – these are women who may not speak English fluently or have the immediate skills for employment,” says Amy.

A temporary bake oven has been stoked for community bread-making, and a permanent Tandoor-style oven is in now the works.

And the new family garden? It is set to bloom starting this year. On a sunny morning in March, Amy points to areas of the rectangular fenced space that will provide:

— children’s garden programs

— a raised planter for seniors and/or people with mobility issues

— several family gardens

— and a garden shed, tools and composting centre.

“We wanted a community garden with a public feeling where people can share knowledge, and generations can come together,” she says. Toronto’s Parks department is getting ready to turn the sod and install a water system.

Amy and her husband Dave had previously grown their own tomatoes, lettuce, rhubarb, mint, Zinnias, Rudbekias and more as members of the original neighborhood garden —

Thorncliffe Park Garden Club — on hydro land just north of Overlead Boulevard. There, 100 allotment gardens offer fresh air and fresh produce to residents and their families.

“It was fun learning from our gardening neighbours. We knew there were long waiting lists for the existing gardens and also many people who wanted to try out gardening without necessarily having the full time responsibility for managing their own plot,” says Amy. The family-garden concept in R.V. Burgess Park was born, and promises a great fit with the park’s village-square vibe.

So how did a woman from Toronto’s established Yonge and Lawrence neighborhood end up as part of a community action group in Thorncliffe Park’s arrival city?

“Dave was in university and doing some soul-searching about his career,” Amy recalls. “To clear his mind one day he took a long walk up the Don Valley and ended up in Thorncliffe Park. He had never been there before. The school bell rang and a thousand kids ran outside to play in the school yard.”

The diversity and energy of the neighborhood made Dave think this would be a great place to raise kids, and Amy agreed. They rented a Thorncliffe apartment and started a family. Dave teaches high school while Amy devotes her time to their three young children and her community volunteer work.

And now, budding with the efforts and imagination of the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, a family garden is set to bloom in the village square.

More information on the committee: http://tpwomenscomm.ca/wiki/wiki.php