Project EverGreen Restores Toronto's St. James Park

By Jeff Salem, Swanson Russell

Volunteers blow seed at the base of a tree in St. James Park in Toronto. Over the course of two days in December, more than 150 volunteers beautified the 7-acre park in downtown Toronto after Occupy Toronto protesters trampled its turf to death.

After five weeks playing host to Occupy Toronto protesters, the lawn at Toronto's St. James Park suffered severe damage as the lawn was trampled to death.

The 7-acre site was brought back to life in just two days with the help of Project EverGreen Canada and local volunteers and organizations, including the Nursery Sod Growers Association of Ontario and Landscape Ontario.

Project EverGreen is a national non-profit organization representing green industry service providers, associations, suppliers/distributors, media companies and other organizations. Project EverGreen is committed to informing the public about the positive effects of well-maintained green spaces, including lawns and landscapes, sports turf, golf courses and parks.

More than 13,000 rolls of sod and two dozen dump trucks of soil - all donated - were used to beautify the urban park. In all, more than $60,000 in labor was donated to the project.

Volunteers from member Landscape Ontario and Nursery Sod Growers Association firms were on site December 7, 2011, for preparation work, but the noticeable difference occurred the following day as more than 150 volunteers helped place the new sod.

Volunteers laid sod in December in Toronto's St. James Park. Three landscape associations donated more than $60,000 in labor to restore the park. Two dump trucks worth of soil were donated to beautify the deteriorated park turf. More than 13,000 rolls of sod were placed by more than 150 volunteers during the St. James Park restoration project. The 2-day effort was led by Project EverGreen Canada.

Restoring the lawn at St. James Park was an effort on par with planting a forest of trees when it comes to cleaning our air and creating the best situation for a healthy environment, according to Project EverGreen.

''A green and healthy lawn is just as important as a tree,'' said Kyle Tobin, manager of the St. James Park project. ''We have a unique opportunity right now before winter to restore the lawn and take advantage of ideal conditions.''

A lush, green lawn is more than just pleasing to the eye, said Alan White, president of Project EverGreen Canada and manager of the St. James Park project.

For example:

• Two hundred twenty square feet of turfgrass produces enough oxygen for a family of four, which means restoring the turfgrass in St. James Park produced enough clean air for 545 families.
• Lawns are 30 degrees(F) cooler than asphalt and 14 degrees cooler than bare soil in the heat of summer.
• Turf improves water quality by storing and filtering the water that would otherwise go into catch-basins and into the lake.
• A 10,000 square-foot lawn will contain six grass plants per square inch, 850 plants per square foot and 8.5 million plants total.

''When you consider the immense environmental benefits of turf, we made a huge impact with the revitalization of St. James Park,'' White said. ''A new lawn in the park will have the equivalent impact of producing enough clean air for 2,180 people each day. It will help maintain a healthy temperature in our environment and work to keep our air and water clean.''