Family Storytime starts June 7th

Family Storytime with the librarian draws lots of kids to our park.

Keep your kids busy this June, and build a lifetime love of reading in the Park! Friends of Berczy Park and Toronto Public Library, St Lawrence Branch, invite families to children’s storybook reading with Dulce from the library:

-Each Friday at 10:30am, from June 7 to June 28

-Ideal for children up to age 5.

Enjoy these free events in the Berczy Park green space lawn near Front & Scott Streets. Parents: ByoBlanket, to get comfy in the grass.

If rainy, meet at the library instead.

 

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Join the Berczy Park knitting group!

Want to try knitting, maybe with an expert by your side? Love to knit but want some company? Then stop by our new, drop-in knitters group in Berczy Park this summer.

Starting Tuesday June 11, members of the Old York Towers knitting group will meet each Tuesday  from 2pm-4pm at the Berczy Park tables & chairs (just east of the fountain). These ladies  knit wool scarves for our Berczy Park fountain pooches last winter, and they keep busy year-round knitting cotton caps

The Old York Towers resident knitting group fashioned scarves for the Berczy Park fountain dogs last winter

for cancer patients at St. Mikes Hospital, as well as an array of wool items like mitts, socks and scarves.

Since knitting is more fun together, the ladies invite anyone to drop-by and join them in Berczy Park. Group leader ‘Reet’ is happy to offer a lesson or two and lend some needles or wool to anyone starting out. Who knows, with some practice, you may create warm, homemade gifts, much-needed garments for hospital patients, or even help us knit more scarves for our fountain dog sculptures next winter!

Members of the Old York Towers Knitting Group met recently to plan their drop-in activities this summer in Berczy Park.

 

Join us for Pet-lovers Day in Berczy Park on Saturday June 8th

Pet-owners got lots of great training advice at our 2018 event!

Friends of Berczy Park is hosting our popular annual Pet-lovers Day in Berczy Park on Saturday June 8th, from 9am to noon (rain date: Sunday June 9th, 9am to noon).

Stop by the mural garden behind the Flatiron Building for free pet treats from PetValu, complimentary coffee from the Novotel, and meet your furry and human neighbours, starting at 9am.

From 10am to noon, meet our professional pet trainer, Sydney, from Fresh Puppy and “Ask the Pet Trainer” a question during this free activity. It’s a great chance to ask our expert for puppy training tips, teach Rex a new trick, or address a pet issue like jumping, barking, recall or other behavioural issues you may face. Even if you are just thinking of getting a puppy, stop by, since Sydney has lots of great advice for future pup parents.

What else? New this year, we are offering a free pet massage demonstration by Regan of Kuri K9 Massage. This is your chance to learn about techniques to improve the physical and emotional health of your dog or cat. In Regan’s words: “I help hard working parents of precious fur babies attain and maintain the optimal physical and emotional health of their pet through massage therapy – an holistic therapy that compliments traditional veterinary treatment – all in the comfort of their own home environment with sessions tailored to their schedule.  This helps eliminate the anxiety that often results from visiting a “clinical setting,” which in turn allows the dog (or cat) to relax and get the most out of their massage.”

By the way: Got old pet toys, clothes or supplies you don’t need? Bring them to our event and we’ll donate them to Project Jessie, a rescue

Bring your used or un-needed pet supplies for Project Jessie rescue shelter.

and adoption program run by the Animal Alliance of Canada.

This is a great chance for Rover to make new friends while you enjoy a Saturday morning together.

And, check out our new green bin for pet poop, recently installed in the Berczy Park mural garden.

Special thanks to our event sponsors PetValu, 184 Front St East, and the Novotel Hotel Toronto Centre, 45 The Esplanade.

Join our Short Story Book Club in Berczy Park each Wednesday

Looking for a relaxing outdoor activity, where you can meet other book-lovers?

Then join Toronto Public Library, St Lawrence Branch, and Friends of Berczy Park as we host our second annual summertime reading club in Berczy Park.

To take part, just come by the park each Wednesday, from May 22 to June 26, 10:30am to noon.

Best of all, there’s no homework or weekly assigned pre-reading, since each week we will hand out copies of the story to  read together and discuss the themes.

Not only is this a great way to meet other members of our community – including dedicated book-lovers – it’s also a great activity for anyone who wants to practice their English reading, including newcomers to Canada.

So, join these free events, held on the table & chair sets arranged just east of the park fountain at 35 Wellington St East. In case of rain, the group will meet instead at St Lawrence Library, 171 Front St East.

Green Bin for pet waste to be installed this April!

As announced earlier this year,
Berczy Park pet-owners will soon gain an environment-friendly way to dispose of pet waste. During April 2019, The City will install a Green Bin in Berczy Park, so pet-owners can deposit their poop bags in the Green Bin, rather than leaving the waste in the standard black garbage bins.

The City notes that, when pet waste is left in standard garbage or blue bins, it contaminates the other materials and prevents sanitary recycling or processing. With estimates that 84% of waste bin contents near dog parks are organic waste, this represents a huge opportunity to divert organic materials from local landfills, and help our environment.

Berczy Park’s Green Bin will be installed in the gravel mural garden behind the Flatiron Building, which is a designated pet-relief area. Signage will educate pet-owners to visit the mural garden and dispose of all pet waste in the Green Bin. Dog poop bags can be placed directly in the Green Bin and poop bags do not need to be biodegradable. See the poster below to see everything that can go in a Green Bin including food scraps and diapers.

Black and blue waste bins will accompany the Green Bin to provide more locations for other waste in the eastern end of the park.

Adopt a tree in Berczy Park!

Since Summer 2017, many people who live, work, or play in the neighbourhood have watched the renovated Berczy Park become a beloved part of the community. That includes watching more than 30 young trees establish strong roots, grow taller, and start to sprout a shady, green canopy.

Many of those fledgling trees have survived and thrived thanks to the hard work of more than 20 Adopt-a-Tree participants who volunteered a bit of time every week or two to water, weed and mulch 30 park trees during 2018.

Get involved this spring!

For spring 2019, we are inviting new volunteers to join our current, dedicated adopt-a-tree participants. Interested in helping ensure Berczy Park trees grow into a healthy forest that will be enjoyed by generations? Then read on, and email us at berczypark@gmail.com to sign up. We’ll get started in May 2019.

What’s involved? Not too much:

• Attend quick training in the park to be assigned your tree and learn to water and care for the tree.
• Come to the park every week or two to water your tree, using the hose and supplies installed by Friends of Berczy Park. – likely 30 minutes per visit. If needed, we can match you with a buddy to share the task when you are busy.
• Although registered volunteers should be 18-years-of-age or older, this is a great activity for a family to do together, or an adult participant to bring along a youngster and involve them in nature.
• Best of all, this is a free activity for our adopters.

How do I sign up?

• Easy! Send an email to berczypark@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Adopt-a-tree’ program. Include your full name, address and phone #, and any questions you may have. We’ll respond and arrange a date for your brief orientation/training along with the other volunteers.
• Expect the training and program to get under way by mid-late May, 2019.

Aren’t the Berczy Park trees on an irrigation system?

About half of the trees in Berczy Park are on an irrigation system with the innovative ‘silva cell’ technology to collect rain water and allow deep roots to grow (the trees on hard surface/pavement).

However, the rest of the trees (on turf/lawn areas) require regular watering like any young tree. So, we have lovely recently-planted elms, oaks, tulip trees and magnolia, as well as a number of mature/preserved trees, including ginkgo, katsura, pagoda, and amur cork, that need to be adopted too.

How will we know what to do?

Friends of Berczy Park is grateful to have won a grant from LEAF, and its corporate and government sponsors, (among them TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and the City of Toronto) to introduce their widely-admired Adopt-a-Tree program in our park. During spring/summer 2017, LEAF’s Young Urban Forestry Leaders (female post-secondary students studying the fields of urban forestry and arboriculture) inventoried the Berczy Park trees, developed a stewardship plan for the park and helped Friends of Berczy roll out the program. They taught us how to run a successful program like others in Toronto parks.

That’s it! Thanks in advance for raising your hand to volunteer, for trying out your ‘green thumb’, and for helping make our new park green, lush and beautiful for many years to come!

Berczy to get a Green Bin for pet waste

At long last, Berczy Park pet-owners will gain an environment-friendly way to dispose of pet waste in Spring 2019. The City will expand last year’s pilot project in 20 dog parks and place Green Bins (for organic waste) in parks across the City.

Based on the pilot project’s success, Green Bins will be introduced to Berczy Park, and other parks, so that pet-owners can deposit their poop bags in the Green Bins, rather than leaving the waste in standard garbage bins found in most parks and along streets.

The City notes that, when pet waste is left in standard garbage or blue bins, it contaminates the other  materials and prevents sanitary recycling or processing. With estimates that 84% of waste bin contents near dog parks are organic waste, this represents a huge opportunity to divert organic materials from local landfills, and help our environment.

A Green Bin for pet waste will appear by the gravel mural garden by the Flatiron Bldg.

Berczy Park’s Green Bin will be installed beside the gravel mural garden behind the Flatiron Building, which is a designated pet-relief area. Signage will educate pet-owners to visit the mural garden and dispose of all pet waste in the Green Bin. Dog poop bags can be placed directly in the Green Bin and poop bags do not need to be biodegradable.