July 29, 2025 – Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, 115, Simpson Ave. Toronto, ON. M4K 1A1
Pictures by: Eileen L., Mina S. and Sayeh
When my friend Luna reached out about offering a workshop as part of their PollinateTO grant’s educational component, I knew that the seed-saving workshop I had first held for King Street Community gardens would be perfect.
I wanted to give participants the tools to be able to identify and harvest seeds from the gardens of the three organizations, so I began by visiting the three gardens and becoming familiar with them.
The program began with a talk about native plants, why we should grow them and their impact on the local web of life. This was one of the most enthusiastic and informed groups I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to, so I really didn’t need to convince anyone!
MCC members pulled out all the stops to make this a great event with on bringing in native carnivorous plants to share with attendees. Another brought in a display of books on native plant. There were also quite a few that volunteered to help with setup and refreshments.
We had a break after the presentation portion of the program and USS members Marjan, Mina and Sheri sprang into action to set up the hands-on portion, and helped me run this workshop. I could have never done it without their help!
Each kit had a container of seedheads, a laminated card that describes each plant, the wildlife value it has and what the seeds look like. There are specific cleaning instructions on the back of each card. There are also tools and a paper tray for sorting the seeds and envelopes and labels to pack the cleaned seeds.
And just when I thought the evening could not get any better, my dear friends Nancy and Lawrence from Don’t Mess with the Don arrived.
It was altogether a great evening with friends and I look forward to seeing the plants they grow.
