A Green Oasis in the City: Volunteering at Evergreen

Posted by CassandraLast Updated May 29th, 2024

— 3 minutes reading

85% of Canadians live in cities and that’s true for all of us at Archon Systems. On Friday September 30th, our team met up at Evergreen Brickworks, a beautiful oasis of nature in Toronto.

Since 1991, Evergreen, a national not-for-profit has been working to create sustainable urban development and connecting cities with the natural environment.

Our host, Isaac, told us about initiatives that Evergreen is working on to uncover local rivers and create more green space in Toronto. He also led us on a tour around the site and gave us some history of the former quarry that was used and abandoned, and has since been naturalized. Today it is a lush green space open for the public to enjoy.

Along the way, Isaac gave us tips for surviving in the wild (you know, in the event of a zombie outbreak). He pointed out some plants we can eat, others to help with pain, and still others we can chew if we’re getting thirsty.

So, in the event of a walking-dead style disaster, contact the inFlow support team and we’ll help you out!

One of Evergreen’s areas of program focus is on children, and the role that playing outside in green spaces can have on a child’s physical and mental health. Our tasks for the day centred around the toddler garden and the children’s court onsite.

Part of our team got their workout on by hauling sand from far off regions of the park where they’d disappear on long treks, but we weren’t worried since they had Isaac’s survival training under their belts.

Another group worked on weaving willow branches into the willow dome fort in the children’s area. It was such a cool all-natural hangout spot that we’re trying to work out how we can create one in the office! Some of the branches were quite high up, so it comes in handy to have a 6’6” designer on the team.

Lastly we got to work slinging dirt to mulch the children’s court. The game became: how fast can a software team shovel mulch into two wheelbarrows? And, to skeptical onlookers, “is it about how much gets in the wheelbarrow? Or how much misses and falls on the ground?”

The record was 22 seconds, and it all eventually got where it needed to go!

It was an awesome day spent outside. I know I felt the positive benefits of being active, breathing fresh air, being surrounded by greenery, and enjoying the company of great people. I think the kids who use the space will too.