G&L IN
THE COMMUNITY.

It is our belief that as a business actively employing, residing and servicing GTA communities, it is our opportunity and privilege to extend our service beyond just delivering products and providing good customer service.

As a group or through each of our individual companies, we have chosen to support the following charities in a variety of ways. G&L encourages everyone to visit and support these or any organization that you believe in:

• ALS Society of Canada
• Alzheimer Society of Toronto
• BOLT
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters Canada
• C.A.R.D. (Community Association Riding for the Disabled)
• Camp Ooch for Children with Cancer
• Country Day School
• Dance for The Cure in Support of Lupus Ontario
• Epiphany of our Lord Catholic Church
• EOH-Meta Foundation Annual Family Walk/Run
• Evergreen Brick Works
• Hats Off 2 Kidz
• Heart & Stroke Foundation
• Humber Regional Hospital Foundation
• June Callwood Park and The Garden Club of Toronto
• Jewish National Fund of Canada
• Kenaidan Contracting’s Care Enough to Act (CETA) Program
• Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital
• Most Wanted Fashion Show
• Ner Israel Yeshiva
• Princess Margaret Hospital
• Richview Baptist Church
• Ride to Conquer Cancer
• Runnymede Healthcare Centre
• Sick Kids Foundation
• The Brazilian Carnival Ball in support of St. Michael’s Hospital
• The City of Vaughan Mayor’s Gala
• The Moonlight Ball in support of The William Osler Health Centre Foundation
• Villa Charities
• Whitby Ringette Association
• Whitby Mayor Pat Perkins' Performing Arts Gala in support of Performing Arts Centre
• Youth Bocce Canada

G&L also proudly supports a number of minor hockey, soccer and baseball teams throughout our surrounding communities as well as local Charity Golf Tournaments in support of various municipal events and local charities.

COMMUNITY.

Evergreen has been working with school communities to green school grounds and give children the opportunity to learn from and connect with nature for more than 20 years. To date, they have supported greening projects at over 2,500 schools, affecting the lives of more than 900,000 Canadian school children.

Evergreen is also striving to build the infrastructure and programs to create these opportunities at Evergreen Brick Works, the charity’s dynamic home in the heart of Toronto’s Don Valley. When the Children’s Garden opened at Evergreen Brick Works in 2010, it was envisioned to be a testing ground for new innovations in outdoor play and learning. The space itself is a unique combination of place-based education, loose parts play and a site design that evolves with the seasons and user interaction.

Since opening, it has grown to become one of the most used spaces on Evergreen’s campus. With nearly 35,000 visitors a year, the Children’s Garden is beloved by children, students, parents and educators alike.

With 20 years of working with school groups and greening spaces in their back pockets, Evergreen built the Children’s Garden as the hub for experiential nature-based education at the Brick Works. Later in 2018, the Children’s Garden underwent capital redevelopments to improve the base infrastructure and add new features to the beloved landscape. The Water Works Studio made that year was part of the original design proposal for the space!

Ultimately, the aim is to connect children to their environment and set the stage for them to become better stewards of our planet. The site is characterized by gently undulating terrain, a landscape of trees, shrubs and gardens with small gathering areas and nooks, a greenhouse and tree house, and a water tower with manual water play features—all punctuated by an historic 200-foot chimney. It offers a natural workshop, where children can work with the Earth’s materials: sand, rock, wood, plants, water, clay and mud. The site will change and evolve with the seasons, the growth of the plantings and the activities of its visitors. The priority is on firsthand experience and multi-sensory exploration, which will be brought to life with year-round programs, including school visits, camps, workshops, events and activities.

In 2018, the Children’s Garden underwent a magnificent transformation with the help of G&L. Truckloads of soil, sand, mulch and stone were provided by G&L to Evergreen Brick Works for use in a variety of gardening and construction projects all built by children, their families and community groups during school, camp and public programs. For example, the beautiful stoneseating circle provides seating for 40 campers, the mulch provides a soft surface for play but also a great material for making hills to roll on, and the sand pit provides opportunities for endless experimentation and creating small worlds. The Children’s Garden also received a large amount of nutrient-rich soil to help the veggies and fruit trees thrive and produce a bounty of food for the children’s cooking program.

The materials provided by G&L will continue to provide a key ingredient in the “you build it” experience for all who participate in helping this magical space grow and change for years to come.