In the cold of winter, the flora and fauna slumber, preparing for springtime renewal. While our outdoor gardens sleep, our Visitor Centre continues to be a lively community hub, used to connect people to nature, foster tourism during the winter season, and promote lifelong learning for all ages.
Activating the Visitor Centre and winter season is possible with the generous financial support from our grant funding partners, Enbridge, Experience Ontario, the Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, the Henry White Kinnear Foundation, and Gore Mutual Insurance.
Hosting Inclusive and Barrier-Free Events
After a four-year break, Toronto Botanical Garden hosted the Urban Ravine Symposium: Unravelling the Question of “How” for 212 registered attendees—what a huge success!
Speakers Carolynne Crawley, Jacqueline L. Scott, and Danijela Puric-Miadenovic guided participants through a day of learning about how to connect and protect the ravine system. We discussed the importance of creating an accessible and welcoming green space so that all communities in the Greater Toronto Area can feel comfortable accessing essential natural spaces. On that note, thanks to Enbridge’s generous financial support, we hosted an inclusive event that provided free and subsidized tickets to community members, removing barriers to access.
The Urban Ravine Symposium generated impact and movement. The speakers walked us through the challenges and offered insights on how to bring the community together and protect the ravine systems of Toronto. “It was a great experience to hear from diverse practitioners about their work: how it’s shaped by their lived experience and worldviews, how it directly impacts their communities, and how the sector(s) at large can better support them,” said one participant. Another attendee said, “I enjoyed the diversity of the speakers and the topics that were addressed. The layout of the day was also beautiful, and the catering company was spot-on for the theme.”
It was a pleasure to have so many eager learners present and to have a caterer provide a lunch that was not only delicious but also waste-free.
Extending the Winter Season Thanks to Funding Support
Thanks to Experience Ontario’s generous funding support, Toronto Botanical Garden expanded upon the Holiday Market to create Winter Blooms. In partnership, we elevated tourism during the winter season, creating a meaningful and engaging experience for visitors from all over the Greater Toronto Area.
Winter Blooms brought together over 5,500 individuals in November and December of 2023 to celebrate natural green spaces, relax or take a class in our new human-sized terrarium, listen to local live music, participate in unique eco-based programming and immerse yourself in Artist Amanda McCavour’s art display “Suspended Landscape: Ode to a Prairie.” Attendees shopped from more than 200 vendors and left with a renewed sense of inspiration and connection to nature, community, and the winter season.
Donor support, like from Experience Ontario allows us to be grand in our displays, offerings, and programming. We look forward to working with private donors and granting organizations in the future to make events like Winter Blooms possible.
Living Winter
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, the Henry White Kinnear Foundation, and Gore Mutual Insurance, Toronto Botanical Garden invites over 1,800 students to participate in our Living Winter program from November 2023 to March 2024.
Living Winter is a full-day hands-on learning experience that empowers children to learn about and connect with their local environment and ecosystems. Thanks to the generous support of our partners, TBG invites school groups located in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas to participate in Living Winter for free. We provide students with educational resources, healthy snacks, warm winter clothing, and a bus subsidy to remove the barriers to accessing essential outdoor education.
Our mission to provide nature-based education to young, curious minds is only possible because of the generosity of our funding partners. With their support, we can make a difference in students’ lives. We are proud to see that our efforts have led to many school groups returning year after year, eager to learn more. As one teacher, Mairead said, “The Living Winter program was equivalent to a month of in-class learning on the subject material. The students had an amazing time, and better yet, the engaging hands-on experience helped children to retain the information.”
As we approach the end of the 2023-2024 Living Winter season, we are filled with gratitude for the opportunity to inspire and educate young minds through our programs. We eagerly look forward to continuing Living Winter in November 2024.
We Couldn’t Do It Without Our Winter Funding Partners
To our winter grant funding partners, Enbridge, Experience Ontario, the Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, the Henry White Kinnear Foundation, and Gore Mutual Insurance, thank you.
Thank you for making it possible for Toronto Botanical Garden to connect people and plants, foster sustainable communities and develop reciprocal relationships with nature through lifelong learning, even in the cold months.
