Greening the Gatineau Hydro Corridor

People in the hydro corridor planting wild flowers

On June 29, the Don and Highland Creek Watersheds team hosted a community wildflower planting event to help build a revitalized greenway trail in the Gatineau Hydro Corridor.

Over 100 Scarborough residents came out to the event and another 350 students from St. Richard’s Catholic Public School came out to an earlier planting. Thanks to the support of local residents, there are now 1200 new seedlings that will grow into native wildflowers such as blackeyed susans, columbines, blanket flowers and native grasses.

Planting wild flowers in sandy soil

Conservation experts were on hand to lead groups on guided nature walks along the corridor. Attendees also had the opportunity to chat with Scarborough Centre Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, who also took part in the festivities.

Strolling along the pathway in the hydro corridor

Some of the wildflowers being planted

Children were able to get their hands dirty planting wildflower seedlings and creating seed balls to plant in their gardens at home.

The planting event is part of a greening initiative to create a continuous naturalized corridor from the Lower Don River trail to Rouge Park. Through education and stewardship programs, community members will be able to connect with nature and take active ownership of the space to maintain it for future generations to enjoy.

A young girl planting wildflowers

To stay informed about future TRCA planting events in the Highland Creek Watershed, visit or subscribe to our online events calendar.

See more about the project in this video

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