SAM BENVIE SCHOOLS THE YOUTH The underlying theme of ecological references was introduced to me 20 years ago when I was a student at Ryerson studying Landscape Design. Sam was growing 300 species from seed at the base of the architecture building. I remember him casually mentioning the cliff reference to me in passing. I…

ROM HOSTS CAROLINIAN CANADA IN STYLE The day started with extreme weather and cancellation of all TDSB classes, sending me scrambling for childcare so I could attend the much anticipated sophomore production of Shifting the Paradigm put on by Carolinian Canada. My late arrival meant missing the opening ceremony with Carolyn King the former elected Chief…

Introducing a symposium for gardeners, landscapers, landscape architects, and city builders. Learn to use ecosystem references in cities bearing the brunt of climate change. How can we develop, implement and maintain sustainable, robust planting designs at all scales? Session 1: Guest Speakers Sarah Mainguy, ecologist at North-South Environmental Stefan Weber, biology PhD candidate at McMaster…

Alvar habitats provide model for highway restoration planting It was a pretty average gray day that did nothing to hint at the wonders to come. Expectations were high for Shifting the Paradigm Forum 2018: Growing the native plant industry through innovation and collaboration. Right off the bat Allan Arthur was blasting about how tough native…

Expectations were high and the room was full as Ryerson University was graced with a panel of experts for an evening session appropriately titled “Promoting the Health and Resilience of Urban Vegetation”. The city is a novel ecosystem Host Sam Benvie opened the panel discussion by talking about resilience of urban vegetation in the context of climate…

WHO DO YOU WANT WORKING ON YOUR PROPERTY Picture your garden, its a sunny spring morning and all you need to feel complete is a new patio, walkway or wall. You might hop on social media and ask your friends for a referral or perhaps head to the Landscape Ontario website to look for a…

ITS A CAREER! we are currently looking to fill a couple positions: work 8-430 mon-fri (sometimes later in the busy season) Logistics/driver/labourer Must have valid drivers license and operate manual transmission (small dump truck) Responsibilities: Load/unload equipment and materials, prep site, install base, lay stone, prep gardens, planting and cleanup Flexibility and organization are key…

[View the story “Greenline Plant Walk May 2015 ” on Storify]

Join me in exploring the everyday spaces of our city to see, appreciate and value the complex beauty of our urban ecology. Previous posts explored the beautiful interaction between people and place, remarkable feets of walking, and what happens when a master gardener meets a tree no one else in this city could love. The truth…

Climate Math: 3 Critical Numbers You Should Know For a brief but terrifying overview of basic climate math start here. What you need to know is over 150 countries have signed on to the Copenhagen Accord, agreeing that the maximum warming we can tolerate is 2 degrees. After that, things start to look like a…