On Saturday June 17th the boulevards at the Hamilton Public Library Barton branch were transformed into a stunning new green space. The new gardens contain dozens of wonderful native species with fantastic names, including black eyed susan, hairy beardtongue and zigzag goldenrod.
With the help of GALA community planning committee, Hamilton Public Library, Barton Village BIA and Adele Pierre along with dozens of volunteers, the space at 571 Barton St E was turned into a beautiful visual garden adding pollinator-habitat, rainwater absorption, and seating.
Previously, the space was dead grass that did not offer many social or ecological benefits. With the help of Adele Pierre, an award winning landscape architect, we created a new vision for the space after community consultation. Neighbours wanted to see more flowers, more seating space and as we were planting, various community members dropped by to see the vision come to life!
This project was made possible through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund. This initiative is supporting projects across Canada that revitalize downtown cores and main streets, reinvent outdoor spaces, create green infrastructure and increase the accessibility of community spaces.
Melissa McSweeney, manager of the Barton Library, is excited to see how the garden will engage library members to enjoy the outdoor space in their neighbourhood. Melissa says, “I can’t wait to see how this green space invites our members to enjoy the library both inside and out, allowing a spot for members to read books and access wifi while enjoying green space; a spot to wait for the bus or just enjoy greenery amongst our urban landscape. HPL is committed to projects that increase sustainability and support community gathering.”
Over the last 3 years, Green Venture has worked to transform a handful of other underused areas into beautiful and accessible green spaces.
The goal of these projects is to:
- Decrease the runoff of stormwater to lower its impacts on our sewers and help improve our community’s water quality and restore natural hydrologic cycle
- Increase urban green space and ecosystems present in our cities and reversing the proliferation of hard surfaces
- Educate residents about the effects of stormwater runoff and benefits of permeable surfaces, green space and reconnecting the urban landscape to nature
- Foster behavioural change and community engagement
- Decrease the heat island effect and help cool urban areas
Some of our other depave and beautification projects are:
Good Shepherd Venture Centre – Completed Spring 2022
578-581 Barton St E. & 539 Barton St E. – Completed Spring 2021
EduDeo Ministries – Completed Fall 2020
Yorkview Elementary School – Completed Fall 2019
Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School – Completed Fall 2017
To stay up to date and volunteer on future projects, please follow @green_venture on social media.
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