Sheridan College’s Oakville campus home to new naturalized garden

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Published October 13, 2021 at 12:39 pm

Sheridan and Oakvillegreen volunteers work together to remove pavement and install a garden at the Trafalgar Road Campus in Oakville. SHERIDAN COLLEGE PHOTO

Sheridan College’s Trafalgar Road Campus in Oakville is home to a “vibrant new greenspace.”

The ‘De-pave Paradise’ project is the latest collaboration between Sheridan and Oakvillegreen and aims to create natural habitat for local wildlife, better absorb rainwater, reduce heat absorption and beautify the community.

Volunteers from the school’s Mission Zero team and Oakvillegreen joined forces over two days to remove a 100 square-metre section of unused pavement on campus and replace it with a new naturalized garden.

Chunks of pavement were cut by Sheridan staff and volunteers, then lifted and carried to a bin to be taken to an asphalt recycling facility. The area would then be filled with soil, mulch and native grasses and shrubs.

Oakvillegreen supplied all of the required specialized equipment, tools and expertise.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Oakvillegreen to create this beautiful, sustainable garden at our Trafalgar campus,” said Herb Sinnock, Sheridan’s Director of Sustainability.

“As Sheridan continues to lead as an institutional model for sustainability, community partnership projects like these demonstrate our commitment to restoring biodiversity, building stronger communities and projecting true global citizenship.”

De-pave Paradise is a project of Green Communities Canada and community partners across the country, including Oakvillegreen. Over the past six years, Sheridan and Oakvillegreen have partnered on numerous sustainability initiatives.

“This transformation was possible due to the enthusiasm and hands-on effort of Sheridan students and community volunteers,” said Melanie Rose, Oakvillegreen’s Executive Director. “Working together, we were able to create a vibrant new greenspace, improving our local environment, while also instilling a sense of pride in our community.”

This is the first De-pave project at the Trafalgar campus. Benefits of this new biodiverse garden include:

  • removal of the impervious ground surface which reduces the area’s heat island effect
  • creation of natural habitat that supports pollinators, birds and other wildlife
  • absorption of rainwater to prevent flooding and reduce storm water pollution
  • beautification of neighbourhoods and creation of gathering spaces with access to nature

The project involved an empty section of pavement on the corner of Ceremonial Drive and Trafalgar Road, at the end of Parking Lot 1A. No parking spots were impacted by the addition of the garden.

Oakvillegreen Conservation Association (Oakvillegreen) is a non-partisan environmental charity that has been helping to protect and restore nature through community education and local action since 2000.

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