The Children's Garden Program
About the Children's Gardens
Fun Garden Facts!
Activities On-Line

... Promoting outdoor learning, ecological awareness and hands-on gardening activities for children.

Tomatillos and Eggplant in tub.

The Children’s Garden Program provides children, youth and families with an opportunity to participate in hands-on organic gardening activities like planting, maintenance, composting and more!

We have two garden locations: High Park and the Waterfront. School programs are currently offered at the High Park Children’s Garden, which is wheelchair accessible.

School Programs
The City of Toronto invites school groups to visit the garden and participate in hands-on gardening activities.

Programs are suitable for K-8 and last approximately 2 hours. We also offer customized programming for children with special needs.

The Children's Garden Program is available from mid-May to the end of June and from mid-September to early October. Registration is done on a first come first served basis so don't forget to register early! The program cost is $5/child.

Possible Activities Include:

• Planting and Harvesting
• Soil Investigation
• Plant Identification
• Scavenger Hunts
• Composting
• Bug Hunts
• Garden Crafts
• Drama and Music

All programs are hands-on, interactive, and reflect Ontario Ministry of Education Curriculum.

For more information, or to register a class, please contact Keely Forth at 416-392-1329 or kidsgrow@toronto.ca.

Summer Events, Eco Camp and Family Drop-in Programs
The Children's Garden and Exploring Toronto Programs will be hosting a number of drop-in programs and community events, as well as our Eco Camp this summer. Join us for hands-on gardening and nature exploration activities, nature crafts, garden harvest cooking, nature tours, eco-games and live performances.

For complete details see the Calendar

For more information, please contact 416-392-1329 or kidsgrow@toronto.ca.

Volunteering
Interested in volunteering for any of our spring, summer or fall programs? Contact 416-392-1329 or kidsgrow@toronto.ca.

Our gardens are grown organically, which means that we do not use any chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Instead, we try to work with nature by using companion plants and natural sprays to control pests and by using compost for fertilizer.

Some of the vegetables grown at the gardens are harvested and eaten by children during our summer programs. The rest is cooked and prepared for our summer Sunday events to provide a yummy organic, vegetarian lunch for the community. Any extra vegetables that cannot be used are given to local soup kitchens and food banks.

• The High Park Children's Garden was created in 1998 on what used to be a parking lot. It features colourful raised beds in the shape of the letters A,B,C.
  
• The garden features a large compost demonstration site with a variety of composters. All of the organic waste produced at the garden goes into the composters and then back into the soil to feed the plants. We also have a worm composter which is featured in our programming. The worms are a big hit with the kids and help make the compost even better!!
  
  
  
  High Park Compost Site.
  
• We grow a wide variety of annual vegetables and flowers including tomatillos, corn, okra, cucumbers, marigolds, sunflowers and much more. Perennial features include a hillside of native wildflowers and grasses, a culinary and medicinal herb bed and a new permaculture bed with an herb spiral and a fedge (or food-bearing hedge) with various berry and fruit plants.
  
• The High Park site also features a sandbox, birdhouse trellis, picnic shelter, tool shed and two rain barrels.
  
  
  
  High Park Children’s Garden

The Waterfront Children's Garden

• The Waterfront Garden was created in 1999, at the same time as the adjacent Toronto Music Garden.
• The site features a butterfly garden with a six-foot caterpillar topiary, a three-bin composter and a vegetable and herb garden.
  
  
  
  Emily at the Emily's Garden
  
• As it is very hot and dry at this location, we try to place heat-loving vegetables including hot peppers, tomatillos, okra, eggplants and herbs like basil and oregano.
• The children and youth from the Harbourfront Community Centre help to plant and care for this garden throughout the spring and summer.

• Have you heard the myth that if you cut a worm in half it becomes two worms? Well it’s not true! A worm can re-grow some of its tail if the end was cut off but they can’t survive being cut in half.  
• Did you know that the longest earthworm ever found was almost 22 feet long?
• Toronto has some of the richest agricultural lands in Canada but very little space. Come to the High Park Children’s Garden to learn how to grow lots of food in very small areas!
• Did you know that water levels in the Great Lakes are getting lower? This is just one of the reasons to conserve water. At the High Park garden, our rain barrels help us to recycle rainwater that runs off the picnic shelter. This means we always have a supply of water for when the plants get dry.
• Did you know that the First Nations people called corn, beans and squash the "Three Sisters"? Come see how they grow together.
• High Park is home to a lot of wildlife. Some of the creatures that have been spotted in the park include coyotes, fox, possums, beavers and even deer! Of course, there are also lots of chipmunks, squirrels, racoons and rabbits. We have also seen lots of birds near the garden including Robins, Downy Woodpeckers, Sparrows, Scarlet Tanagers, Northern Flickers and a Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Keely and Kids Planting Access Week.