growthA year of

2014 Annual Report

2014 was a very productive year for Green Thumbs. We had bountiful learning garden harvests and experienced the healthy growth of our organi-zation as well. Through the determination of our Board of Directors, we held two days of strategic planning that brought together program participants, staff, volunteers and members in creative collaboration. The outcome was the creation of Green Thumbs’ first ever Strategic Plan, which will drive our organization’s growth for the next three years. With the culmination of our Ontario Trillium Foundation funding, which supported the development of our successful volunteer program, it is imperative that we look to the future, with an eye to diversifying our funding base and creating a more robust membership program.

Throughout the year, our programs for children, youth, and families thrived. We made new connections in Regent Park, and moved our office from Rose Avenue Public School in St. James Town to the vibrant Centre for Social Innovation in Regent Park. We also opened a satellite office and helped start a new garden at Lord Dufferin Public School, our fifth school partner. These moves were great for us, helping us increase our visibility in the community and extend our reach. We have much to be proud of. Our deepest thanks go to the funders, individual donors, members, interns, volunteers, and staff who keep our programs growing!

2014 Board of DirectorsVirginia Kairys, President • Tanya English, Vice President

Prateeksha Singh, Treasurer • Emily Parker, Secretary Natasha Arsenijevich • Robin Buyers • Todd Irvine Helene St. Jacques • Alissa Vieth • Melissa Yule

Kristina Vidug • Drew Williams • Christine Jones • Harriet KimRobert Spence • Kimberley Atwill-Bradbury • David Clandfield

StaffIssac Crosby • Sunday Harrison • Ivanna Prots

Cassie Scott • Chimu Titi • Leslie Topness • Claire TrepanierSummer Staff: Tanbir Haque • Li Keller • Lael Kronick

Contract Staff: Christine Hayhurst • Melisanne Loiselle-Gascon • Kryslyn Mohan

Interns/Practicum StudentsKisha Andrews • Richard Bills • Heather Carson

Ashley Connelly • Bradley Davis • Sophia Dungan Sara Fegelman • Michael Peters • David Smith • Chris Whiting

Partner Organizations

Our Team

Sunday Harrison, Program Director of Green Thumbs

Imagine a garden

About Green Thumbs

Green Thumbs connects children and youth to food and nature in the city. We offer food growing and environmental education programs in five inner-city schools and two parks. Our programs take place in the east downtown Toronto neighbourhoods of St. James Town, Cabbagetown, Regent Park and Moss Park.

Co-op StudentsConnor Hurley • Rebecca Power • Joel Solomons

Rosemary Webster • Edden Yohanes

Access Alliance Green Roof Project • Allan Gardens Children’s Conservatory • Art City Day Camp • Cabbagetown Youth Centre Day Camp • Centre Francophone • Clinton Public School • Dixon Hall Children’s Day Camp • Elementary Teachers of Toronto • George Brown College School of Community and Social Services • Norway Public School OISE/UT Faculty of Education • Pathways to Education

Red Bear Storytelling • Regent Park Farmers Market Rose Avenue Parenting Centre • Ryerson University School

of Early Childhood Studies • Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative • Ryerson University Faculty of Nutrition

York University Faculty of Environmental Studies

Lord Dufferin PS • Rose Ave PS • Sprucecourt PSWinchester PS • Ecole Gabrielle-Roy

School garden partners

Kids Growing From planting a tiny seed to making fresh pesto, children’s exploration of nature and healthy food is at the heart of this pro-gram. Gardening and related activities on school grounds support elementary teachers’ learning objectives and provide healthy summer activities for young children.

Imagine a Garden in Every School School gardens are sprouting up all over Ontario, and Green Thumbs is helping to lead the way. In 2014, we worked with Sustain Ontario, Food Share, Seeds for Change, and Ecosource and Ontario Agri-Food Education to recognize and celebrate School Garden Day on May 22. This network-ing and campaign program connects school gardeners across the province.

Grownups Gardening Our community en-gagement program for adults, many of whom are parents in our part-ner schools, includes free monthly skills-building workshops. Members can take plants and food home and earn certificates and volunteer hono-raria. Adult volunteers are key to the success of our Kids Growing programs, as they increase the adult-child ratio and allow each child to get hands-on experience.

Urban Roots Youth Our after-school and summer programs for youth teach the techniques of growing food in small spaces. Youth help compost, maintain the gardens and rainwater catch-ment systems, and receive honoraria for volunteer work. In summer, youth staff provide recreational opportunities for young children in the gardens.

Our programs

“Our stall at the Regent Park Farmers Market sold out almost every week. By the end of the season we had repeat customers coming to us for their favourite item grown by the youth actually selling it.” —Chimu Titi, Urban Roots Youth program leader

“I have worked in schools that have gardens run by teachers or a gardening club, but it is not nearly as effective. Having a spe-cially staffed program provides our school with the expertise to take full advantage of the garden space.” —Susanna Chwang, Grade 3 teacher, Rose Ave. PS

By the numbers3,428 children, 483 youth, 182 special needs children, and 528 adults participated in our programs in 2014.

We provided 463 hours of programming, including 158 children workshops, 23 adult / family programs, and 2 teacher training work-shops reaching 64 teachers.

28 adult volunteers contributed a total of 387 volunteer hours, while 14 secondary and post-secondary students contributed 2,810 volunteer hours.

We gardened a total area of 16,110 square feet over 4 schools and harvested 195 pounds of produce.

HighlightsHands On, Minds On Food GardeningOn April 30th, we gave a workshop to 20 teachers in partnership with the Elementary Teachers of Toronto Environment Committee. The workshop covered classroom-based lesson plans and activi-ties to support food literacy, and techniques for teaching in school gardens.

Autumn Garden WorkshopIn the fall, we implemented a series of workshops for a class of Autism Spectrum Disorder students in grade 7 & 8 from Winchester Public School. The students learned about planting, harvesting, and the importance of biodiversity, and were able to prepare and taste freshly harvested food from the garden.

A New Weekend ProgramThe LUSH Charity Pot program funded a new weekend program for children and their families. It was wonderful to get to know more members of the community during these 15 weekend work-shops in the gardens.

Programs ......................................Admin personnel...............................Professional fees..................................Occupancy cost...................................Office expense....................................Insurance.............................................Board and staff development...............Fundraising..............................................

Total 2014 expenses.....................

Grants...........................................Government.......................................Family foundation donations..............Individual donations...........................Corporate donations............................Program service fees..........................Farmers market sales, misc. fundraising and other revenue.............Interest.....................................................Member dues..........................................

Total 2014 revenue.........................$209,701 (100%)

REVENUE

EXPENSES

Finances

“Green Thumbs expresses exactly the kind of zest, delight and adventure that grows in gardens designed for kids. Once the kids are turned on to the joy of working with food, we can create bridges that introduce them to hundreds of life lessons that grow out of gardens. Kindling that magic is what Green Thumbs is about. We can help them take that magic to schools across Toronto.” — Wayne Roberts Food policy analyst and writer, author of the No-Nonsense Guide to World Food

Directors of the board, staff, volunteers, program participants, and members came together for two full Saturdays in May 2014 to develop Green Thumbs’ strategic plan. Each day was superbly facilitated by Gillian Kranias of Health Nexus and involved a lot of lively discussion — as well as the sharing of some delicious food.

The 10-page plan identifies four key directives for the organization in the coming three years:

1) build on our roots as a learning garden hub in Toronto and grow as a learning garden leader in Ontario,2) expand and strengthen partnerships, 3) celebrate our work and share our stories, and 4) deepen and diversify opportunities for teaching and learning.

A series of goals and objectives to guide our work and help us measure our outcomes was developed for each of the four directives. The strategic plan is already proving to be a vital tool in the development of the organi-zation and has been instrumental in increasing the efficiency of our work and clearly mapping our organization’s future growth.

Cultivating ConnectionsOn April 12th, Program Director Sunday Harrison presented the keynote speech at the Garden-ing and Nutrition Conference organized by the Noojmowin Teg Health Centre at Lakeview School, M’Chigeeng First Nation.

“I really enjoy the times when we all get to work on the same garden bed, everyone working together to achieve something valuable. That’s how I feel every time I come home from volun-teering. It’s a really rewarding experience.” — Kristin Kantautas, Volunteer

Jane’s WalkOn May 3rd, Program Director Sunday Harrison and arborist and board member Todd Irvine led a walk to visit four of the schoolyard gardens run by Green Thumbs in St. James Town and Regent Park. Jane’s Walk organizers deemed our tour a “Staff Pick.”

Our strategic plan

$168,767 24,976

5,514 5,0673,3942,368 1,593

521

$212,200

(54%)(13.9%)

(13%)(8.8%)(2.6%)(5.3%)

(1.4%)(0.4%)(0.4%)

(79.5%)(11.8%)(2.6%)(2.4%)(1.6%)(1.1%)

(0.8%)(0.2%)

(100%)

$113,601 29,14227,35618,4545,43511,197

2,876851790

Tomatoes Need CompanionsOn May 10th, we invited members new and old to a celebration and fundraiser at Allan Gardens. Partici-pants learned about companion planting, trans-planting, and composting and had the opportunity to taste yummy tomato treats!

Events

“Gardens make learning fun, especially when you get to eat what you plant!” —Elias Stathoulopoulos, Kids Growing participant

“This is a great pro-gram for children. You are teaching them where food comes from. It’s the way I was raised.” —Louie Papathanasakis, TDSB Superintendent

Ian Barnett • Lawrence Brookwell • Cheryl Buchwald • Manuel Buchwald • Robin Buyers • Alexander Campbell • Judith Campbell • Nic Chesne • David Clandfield • Sandra Clandfield • Mitchell Cohen • David Dorsch • Ellen Farrelly Jennifer Fraser • Michie Garland • Richard Gotlib • Danica Hansen • Christine Hughes • Todd Irvine • Virginia Kairys Carol King • Michael King • June Komisar • Alfred Mann • Genevieve Mann • Ellen Michelson • Patricia J. Neelands • Ilze Purmalis • Sherene Razack • B. Saibil • F. Saibil • Kristin Schwartz • Robert Spence • Sandra Vidug • Anna Von Frances • Janice Weisfeld • Heather Wilberforce

Ontario Trillium Foundation • City of Toronto: Investing in Neighbourhoods • Telus Community Fund • TD Friends of the Environment • National Bank One for Youth • LUSH Handmade Cosmetics Charity Pot • Service Canada: Canada Summer Jobs • Earth Day Canada • Whole Kids Foundation

Individual donors

Grants

Mondelez International • Whole Foods Market • Elementary Teachers of Toronto • Winchester Public School Advi-sory Council • The Epicure Shop • Nansil Inc. • Whole Foods One Dime at a Time

Corporate donors

The Geoffrey H. Wood Foundation • Leanne Palylyk Children Foundation • Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation • ECHO Founda-tion • The Leonard and Gabryela Osin Foundation • The Marjorie & Joseph Wright Foundation • The Acapella Foundation

Foundations

Thank you to our donors & funders

Green Thumbs Growing Kids 467 Parliament St.PO Box 82874RPO CabbagetownToronto, ON M5A 3Y2647-348-5437info@kidsgrowing.ca

Stay connected & get involvedtwitter: @kidsgrowingfacebook: facebook.com/kidsgrowinginstagram: @greenthumbsgrowingkidsSign up for our newsletter via www.kidsgrowing.ca

ContactDonateDonate online via CanadaHelps:canadahelps.org/dn/7819Or call our office:647-348-5437To become a member or volunteer, visit our website:

www.kidsgrowing.ca

Investing in Neighbourhoods

This report was printed on FSC paper.