A rainy, downcast day did nothing to deter the enthusiasm of over 100 volunteers from participating in a playground build for social housing coop Killarney Gardens, in Vancouver, BC. Killarney Gardens was recently the recipient of energy efficiency upgrades in its townhouses and apartments under the Provincial Government’s LiveSmartBC Efficiency Assistance Program delivered by Eaga Canada and City Green.
Dedicated to working with local communities, Eaga Canada did not hesitate at donating not only $2000 to greening the landscape as part the “Nature & Play” theme for the playground, but also the help of several willing volunteers.“This was an amazing and fun project for eaga to be involved with,” said Liz Kelly, who was involved in the build along with President and CEO Lorriane Quinn, Ryan Coleman, Leslie Gordon, Nirveen Basra, Zoe Boichuk, Emily Kendy, Cindy Shaw and Mike de Haas.
On Thursday, October 1, the crew of volunteers under the direction of Home Depot and Kaboom, a non-profit organization out of Washington that is dedicated to helping build children’s playgrounds, were allocated the tasks of building a play area, a garden and courtyard amidst the coop community.
Little did we know our donation towards the green landscape meant we would be doing the digging! With the rather daunting task of landscaping the large outdoor park in the rain, we raced the clock to shovel mounds of gravel and soil, plant trees and perennials and lay down the children’s handmade stepping stones – all before the 2:30 pm board-cutting ceremony.
Under the watchful eye of Bryce Gauthier, from Projects in Place, our landscaping crew, or, “Soil Relocation Engineers” as Nirveen put it, set about revitalizing the area with carefully selected native plants. “It was great to meet you guys,” said Bryce, “and the donation was a huge help. It wouldn’t have been the same kind of place without the plants. Most people won’t ever know that these plants are drought tolerant and habitat friendly, but they will know that it makes the playground a beautiful place to be. So thanks.”
Our team stayed focused and worked hard throughout the day to accomplish many seemingly impossible tasks, like the steaming mountain of dirt that needed to be distributed throughout the park area.
Leslie said being part of a project gave her a feeling of pride in knowing that she works for a company that truly lives its vision of caring for the environment, its Partners, and local communities. “I love gardens and working with plants” she added. “Having the opportunity to spend the better part of the day doing so was great too, even if I was covered in mud by the end of the day.”
Lorraine agreed that despite the hard labour and unforgiving weather it was a hugely enjoyable day, in which the eaga values were demonstrated in full. She explained:
1) “We are a winning team – landscaping was key to the day and we worked together to move that mountain of topsoil!
2) We are customer focused – we all got involved for Killarney Gardens and more importantly for the kids.
3) We are dedicated to continuous improvement – not the usual things we talk about under this value but we improved the environment for the families living at Killarney and I am sure I improved my shovelling skills!
4) We have a sense of urgency – all of the volunteers there yesterday achieved so much in such a short space of time, the 2.30 pm deadline was met… an amazing achievement.
5) We act responsibly and safely – safety was key yesterday and there were no incidents.
6) We are professionals – professional gardeners we may not be but our team spirit got us through.
7) We embrace change and will maintain a sense of fun – huge changes were achieved (not just the creation of the garden) and it was fun – the musical stylings of the air-rake band will forever remain in my mind!”
And despite the weather and the many enormous tasks at hand the playground and park were completed on schedule. As the rain stopped and the sun lit up the grey clouds from the behind, there followed a closing ceremony, with group pictures, cupcakes and thoughtful thank-you cards from the children of the coop who eagerly handed them out to the tired but happy helpers.
“Thanks again to Eaga Canada for your donation and for volunteering,” said Laura Sleeman, project coordinator for the coop. “We’ll invite you back in the spring when the grass comes up and the trees have new leaves for you to see how everything is growing.”
(Read more about how Eaga helped improve the Killarney Garden’s townhouses and apartments on our Sociable page.
