New Hamilton project aims to put up paradise and tear down parking lots

Take a slow tour of Barton Street East and you will noticegardens showcasing native trees and perennials, with inviting places to sit.

At the corner ofBarton and Gibson a stone path leads to a picnic table, where a mural on the EduDeo Ministries building is the backdrop for a rain garden.

At Barton and Fullerton columnar beech trees anchor agarden planted with perennials and ornamental grasses.

These gardens have replaced concrete, asphalt and rubble. They have turned waste places into pockets of paradise. The gardens are possible because of the Depave Paradise project spearheaded by Green Venture Hamilton.

The simple philosophy is this: dig up hard surfaces, replace bad soil with good, and plant layers of green comprised of trees, shrubs and perennials.

It's an idea that has many benefits. More trees are added to the city's tree canopy, hot areas turn to cool retreats, and rainwater is absorbed into the ground instead of pouring into the overworked sewer system.And no price can be put on creating beauty in neighbourhoods with many challenges.

While the idea is simple, depaving is complex. Many partners must be onboard. The gardensare on boulevards owned by the city. Business owners bordering the gardens need to agree to the project. But they do more than agree, they often support the gardens with their own money.

The money comes from a handful of government agencies. Local businesses like NVK Nurseries, MillgroveGarden Supplies and Budget Bin donate product. And there are many others supporting the effort.

The project is led bylandscape architect Adele Pierre. "I do a range of work, the profession is very broad, but this is where my heart is," Pierre says as she watches a tree planting at the garden she designed at Barton and Westinghouse Avenue.

Stephen Colville-Reeves,a director with Barton VillageBIA,is renovating the building he owns bordering the garden. He supports the depave projects with both money and muscle. Joining a group of volunteers he is finessing a tree into a planting hole where it should thrive for years to come.

"We know the environmental benefits of these gardens, but I believe we arealso planting hope and optimism at the same time,"Colville-Reevessays.

'You never know what you'll find when you start removing paving'

Since 2012 Green Venture credits their depave gardens for absorbing billions of litres of stormwater at sites that would have normally sent that water into overloaded storm sewers.

"You never know what you'll find when you start removing paving," Pierre says. "We dug up one site and found just a thin layer of plywood covering an entrance to a basement. Cars had been parking on it."

This weekend work begins at the newest Green Venture depave project in front of the Good Shepherd Venture Centre on Cannon Street East. Once again, the big dig pulls together a wide range of community partners and volunteers.

That sort of grassroots cooperation is a symbol of the work going on to green Hamilton, particularly neighbourhoods that are deficient in parks and open space.

Environment Hamilton, a partner in depave projects, has a massive free tree giveaway coming up for anyone living in Hamilton. Native trees in one to two gallon pots must be ordered by Monday Oct.4. A separate giveaway for Ward 1 residents has an ordering deadline of Friday Oct.1.

The selection of trees from small species to big ranges from serviceberry and redbud trees to majestic shade trees like sugar maple and red oak.

All the information is here at:environmenthamilton.org/trees_please