December 6, 2023
Dozens of Volunteers #GreenMyCity in the Rain
The Birge Street Meadow in Hamilton, Ont. got an extreme makeover on Oct. 14 in this latest #GreenMyCity project partnership.
With the help of more than 40 volunteers, nearly 300 native plants supplied by Connon Nurseries were put into garden beds. Five trees from the City of Hamilton and Trees for Hamilton were also planted along a 700-metre strip of land across the street from the Hamilton Health Sciences complex at 30 Birge St.
The idea for this project came to community advocate and volunteer Brenda Duke five years ago when she attended the grand opening of a community vegetable garden at the downtown Hamilton General Hospital campus.
“We looked across the street, saw weeds and overgrown trees,” Duke said. “And we said: ‘something’s got to be done about that.’”
Rejuvenating the meadow began last summer when Duke and volunteers installed raised-bed pollinator gardens on the corners of Wellington St. and Birge St. and Victoria St. and Birge St.
With the latest efforts, volunteers gave attention to the space between the raised beds to create major visual improvements for staff, patients and visitors to Hamilton Health Sciences.
“I can’t wait to see it next spring; I’m so excited,” Duke said.
Alan White, chair of the Green Cities Foundation, said work done at the Birge Street Meadow perfectly aligns with the organization’s mission to connect plants and people for a greener, healthier urban climate.
“Having the naturalized area with a little bit of formality and a splash of colour to it really helps bring the two landscapes together.”
The Green Cities Foundation would like to thank the individuals and organizations for their time and donations, including Beautiful Alleys, Turf Systems, Oriole Landscaping, Landsource Organix, Environment Hamilton, Hamilton Health Sciences, The Butterfly Project, and RBC Insurance — GCF’s National Platinum sponsor.