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Additional Information

Did you Know?

Replace some of your lawn with a native plant garden
Replace some of your lawn with a native plant garden, and watch your yard come alive with the sights and sounds of nature. Tell me more
A standard gas mower can emit the same amount of common air pollutants in one hour as driving a new car for over 550 kilometres.
Raising your mower blade to a height of 3 inches will shade-out sun-loving weeds, encourage deep root development, and keep soil cool and moist.

link to stewardship event registration

Healthy Yards Program

The Healthy Yards Program provides watershed residents with the inspiration, information and tools required to create naturally beautiful lawns and gardens.

Workshops, fact sheets and subsidized garden and lawn supplies ease the adoption of sustainable practices in private yards.

Healthy yards is a term for sustainable behaviours carried out in private yards including:

  • gardening with native plants
  • removing invasive exotic plants
  • landscaping for energy conservation
  • creating wildlife habitat
  • composting
  • conserving water
  • reducing the use of polluting equipment
  • reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides

Send queries and comments to the program coordinator at cbrown@trca.on.ca

 

Healthy Yards Events

Looking to learn more about creating your own Healthy Yard? Want to get involved in stewardship activities in your community? Looking for a fun, active, family-friendly outing? Go to the Stewardship Events page for a listing of upcoming workshop, activities and other events in your community. Check back often for updates or e-mail cbrown@trca.on.ca to sign up for electronic notices of upcoming Healthy Yards events.

Healthy Yards Connection

Healthy Yards Connection -
Your Link to Natural Gardening Resources in Your Neighbourhood

Want a rain barrel or composter? Looking for an organic lawn care service provider? Wondering what native plants will grow in your clay soil? The Healthy Yards Connection connects you with government agencies and organizations offering healthy yards products, services and information in your neighbourhood as well as municipal bylaws and restrictions regarding pesticide use, lawn watering and other related topics.

  • Adjala Tosorontio
  • City of Toronto
  • Durham Region
  • Mono
  • Peel Region
  • York Region

 

Healthy Yards Fact Sheets


Grow Me Instead

Invasive species are a significant threat to biodiversity. Horticulture is one of many pathways for the introduction and spread of invasive plants. With this in mind, the Ontario Invasive Plant Council (OIPC) and partners created a guide to help gardeners and landscapers choose beautiful, non-invasive plants. The Grow Me Instead guide identifies common garden plants that may invade natural areas, thereby reducing native biodiversity and changing environmental conditions. It also provides a list of non-invasive alternatives for each of these plants. This resource is available for free download as a PDF from the OIPC website. Hard copies will likely be available in the summer. Send requests for copies to Hayley Anderson, the OIPC coordinator.

 

Garden Transformations

Click here to go to the Garden Transformations page

Recommended Books

Click here to see a list of Recommended Books