It is a New Year, and a new stewardship season will soon start at TNS Leaside Park!

Once again, we will remove garbage and invasive species, tend the native plants, and add more native species to restore Leaside Park’s natural beauty.

We will begin with a spring clean-up event on the weekend of April 24 – 26, exact time and date to be decided.

Please join us. If you have gardening gloves, please bring them. If you do not, don’t worry—we have spares for you. Dress for the weather and safety, including closed-toe shoes and long sleeves. Bring water, a hat, or a raincoat, depending on the conditions.

Regular stewardship sessions will begin in late April. and continue most Monday evenings at 5:30 pm throughout the summer. If you would like to volunteer but this time does not work for you, don’t hesitate to contact John or Catharine.

What will we be doing in 2026?

As always, this will depend on the weather and on which invasive species need to be controlled most urgently. 

In spring, we will begin by removing garbage and garlic mustard. We will also extend our native plant gardens.

In the summer, we will attack creeping bellflower and goutweed.

We have pruned most of the buckthorn, but there is still a bit left, which needs removing.

We will weed and tend our native plant gardens.

We will work in our new extension area, removing invasive avens and seeing what spring ephemerals come up.

We must persist in removing dog-strangling vines, particularly to prevent them from releasing seeds.

In the fall, we will collect seeds to grow over winter.

For more information

TNS Leaside Park Facebook Page.

TNS website: https://torontonaturestewards.org/

TNS Leaside Park Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/tnsleasidepark/

What grows at Leaside Park? Find out on our iNaturalist Project page at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/tns-leaside-park. Feel free to add your own observations using the iNaturalist smartphone app!

E-mail: JohnPOyston@gmail.com