Donovan Bailey Park 2007

Abbey Lane Park

Kingsway In Clearview

Donovan Bailey Park 2007

PLANTING SPRING 2007

Saturday, April 28 at Kingsford Gardens in Clearview. About 65 people turned out for this planting of 200 trees and shrubs including a few large stature trees. The neighbours were very pleased.

Mayor's Special Tree Planting, Tuesday, April 26 - About 20 people turned out on a beautiful sunny spring day to celebrate the Town's 150th anniversary by helping the Mayor plant 150 oak trees and Iroquois Shore Woods.

Sunday, May 6 at Oxford Park. We thought this Sunday would be pretty quiet but about 45 people turned out to help plant 150 trees and shrubs. They were done so quickly some people complained that they only got to plant 2 or 3 trees.

Tuesday, May 8. Thank you to the students at Abbey Park High School who planted about 200 trees and shrubs behind Abbey Lane Public School. Students at the school also raised over $300 for Ground Breakers.

Saturday, May 26 at Donovan Bailey Park. People in Oakville love trees and love plantings trees. About 100 people helped plant 400 trees and shrubs. Thank to the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar for donating to pay for 70 trees and for coming out to help plant.

Our final planting of 2006 was our biggest planting ever with more than 400 trees and bushes planted

DONOVAN BAILEY PARK

With the help of Field & Stream Rescue from Hamilton, more than 400 trees and bushes were planted in Donovan Bailey Park in mid October 2006. About 95 people came out to help including students from Appleby, Sparks, neighbours, members of other local green groups, politicians like Councillors Chris Stoate, Cathy Duddeck and Mike Lansdown and a number of high school students. Thank you to Dan Fulcher of Fulcher Marketing Inc. who donated 14 sweatshirts to some of Ground Breakers most avid volunteers. Thank you!

Residents from around Kings' Way Park came in to lend a hand

Some Scouts and their leaders also helped.

Famlies and friends worked together.

KING'S WAY - SOUTHEAST OAKVILLE

Close to 60 people came out to plant about 200 understorey plants in this hidden gem of a park that was saved from developers by local residents who then gave it to the Town in return for tax credit. A group of Scouts and several high school student also helped out. Everyone really enjoyed working on this site and the local residents were great - one even brought an urn of coffee out for the planters. Working with these kind of community groups is such a pleasure! Thanks to Evergreen Canada and Town Staff who were a terrific support as always.

Arbour Lane residents greening their neighbourhood.

ARBOUR LANE CONDOMINIUM - Glen Abbey

An additional 90 bushes were planted on the south end of Wildwood Park in an evening planting on thursday, September 7 by the residents of Arbout Lane Condominiums and Ground Breakers with help from Town of Oakville staff. The planting went very quickly and the neighbours held a little celebration afterwards.

EMERGENCY SHELTER ROUND #3

After tilling of planting sites and soil remediation, during an evening planting on June 15, Ground Breakers returned to the Lighthouse Emergency Shelter and finished putting in the flower beds and a vegetable garden. Shelter residents, staff and some members of the Salvation Army also helped out. Many thanks to Home Depot who built two raised vegetable beds for us and donated many items to help with graden maintenance including a wheelbarrow, garden hose and other items. One more planting this fall to replace any plants that have not done well and our work at this site will be complete.

EMERGENCY SHELTER ROUND #2

The soil was like cement and the weather was rainy but hardy Ground Breaker volunteers perservered and managed to plant flower beds at Halton's New Emergency shelter On Saturday, June 3 2006.

Cubs, neighbours and Ground Breaker members all lent a hand at Sheldon Creek

Town staff, especially Howie Kumagai, left, have been wonderful partners in the community plantings.

SHELDON CREEK

Cubs from 19th Oakville A Pack joined Ground Breaker volunteers on Saturday, May 6 2006 to plant 150 trees at Sheldon Creek Park on the lakeshore. Our 35 volunteers enjoyed the perfect, easy to dig soil and the perfect weather!

People of all ages came out to help with the Bronte Bluffs planting.

BRONTE BLUFFS

Our first planting of 2006 was a big success with members of the Bronte Historical Society and the Bronte Horticultural Society lending a hand at the lakeside park next to the Historic Sovereign House. Altogether 55 volunteers managed to get about 260 trees in the ground, watered and mulched in about 1.5 hours. Thanks to Town staff who helped get the plants distributed and watered.

Councilor Cathy Duddeck and other volunteers plant trees at the Emergency shelter despite rain.

EMERGENCY SHELTER PLANTING

On Saturday, October 22 2005, more than 50 people helped install an entirely native landscape at Halton's new Emergency Shelter located in south Oakville. Four Rangers, members of the Muslim Residents' Association, staff from King's Christian Collegiate, shelter residents and staff, Ground Breakers members, Salvation Army folks, Evergreen volunteers, Councilor Cathy Duddeck and Town residents' all willingly worked together in the rain and the mud to transform the Shelter grounds into what will become a showcase of landscaping with native plants. Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard. In the spring, plantings of flower gardens are planned at the site. We hope to see you there.

Councilor Allan Elgar and Pastor Derek Deluca from Palermo United church pitch in with tree planting

200 MORE TREES FOR TANGLEWOOD

The ponds in new development of Tanglewood in northwest Oakville had 200 more trees planted around them by a hard working crew of local residents, Ground Breaker members, folks from Palermo United Church, staff from Orchard Ridge Homes and councilor Allan Elgar. The planting took place on Saturday, October 16. The developer has sponsored several plantings at the site and if a residents group can be established there is likely to be a few more. With two ponds spanned by a bridge and surrounded by native trees and bushes, the Tanglewood site promises to have the most beautiful neighbourhood pond in the Town.

Making the birds happy with 100 more berry-producing bushes.

100 MORE BERRY BUSHES

Th birds in River Oaks will be happy as 100 more berry-producing bushes were added to our berry patch on Sixth Line near Glenashton. Volunteers from the Halton Carribean Association joined with Ground Breakers to make this planting a success. Rain, just before the planting which took place on Saturday, October 8, made the ground perfect for the new plants. Special thanks to Robert Patrick who completed the mulching of the berry patch.

Kelly from Evergreen and Ground Breakers volunteers add 200 wildflowers.

WILDFLOWER BED ENHANCEMENT

Ground Breakers volunteers added another 200 wildflowers to the three gardens on Sixth Line. Working to beat the setting sun on a late September evening, the crew managed to get all the plants in the ground within an hour and a half. Great work! And thanks especially to the new folks who joined us that evening: Luke, Bozidar and James.

BERRY BUSH CUB PLANTING

On May 31st, two Trafalgar Cub troops helped Ground Breakers plant 50 berry bushes at our original site on Sixth Line south of Glenashton. So far, rabbits nibbled down two, two were destroyed when someone illegally dumped sod down the side of the ravine and one was accidently mowed by Town crews but the rest are thriving. I have been over to water them a few times since we have had an especially dry late spring/early summer. In the fall we will do any replanting or enhancing we think necessary to the berry patch. Additional flowers will also be added to the wildflower beds in the fall.

Residents of Forest Ridge in Glen Abbey and Ground Breakers volunteers replant Wildwoods.

WILDWOODS PARK

In May, Ground Breakers joined with the Forest Ridge Residents' Association to replant Wildwoods Park located just east of Dorval and just north of North Service Road. This area was once one of Oakville's officially designated Environmentally Sensitive Areas but, like four out of the original 7 ESAs, development was allowed on a portion of it. The development took a toll on many large trees adjacent to the development. Also, a contractor who was taking out dead trees recently damaged, and had to remove, several more. Together, we planted more than 100 native trees from about a dozen different species. It was a great day and the Forest Ridge residents were so pleased with our help that they've offered to come help us with our fall plantings. Later, Donna Sheppard from South Peel Naturalists planted 40 Trilliums in Wildwoods that had been rescued from an about to be developed property.

SIXTH LINE AND GLENASHTON: SITE OF GROUND BREAKERS FIRST PLANTING