December 16, 2021
LO members support St. Matthew’s House project
Caregivers and students look on from a safe distance as voluteers work on the property at St. Matthew's House.
The children at the Daycare Centre at St. Matthew’s House in the Barton Village community in Hamilton, Ont., have a new way to connect with nature. In November 2021, the Green Cities Foundation (GCF) completed the second phase of the #GreenMyCity project at St. Matthew’s House, plus a Fall Lawn Care Program at Woodlands and Birge Parks.

Landscape Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe Chapter are proud supporters of the project. 

The renovated playground now features seven new trees, new garden beds with fresh soil and mulch, reclaimed log benching and tables, and the removal of years of built up asphalt which has been stabilized with limestone screening in preparation for interlock paver paths to be installed in 2022. The Fall Lawn Care Program at both parks: Woodlands and Birge, consisted of lawn aeration, grass seeding and fertilizing to prepare the parks for winter.

GCF anticipates completing the project next summer, COVID permitting. Once completed, St. Matthew’s House will have a completely redesigned natural playground with logs, sand areas, hills, plants, and trees, plus a parking lot that will be transformed into a community gathering space to serve a fully-populated and dense urban area. Three parks in the neighbourhood will also have improved landscape spaces.

The Green Cities Foundation thanks its partners and sponsors for their support of the Phase 2 project build: RBC Insurance, Hamilton Community Foundation, St. Matthew’s House, Barton Village BIA, Golden Horseshoe Chapter of Landscape Ontario, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, Beautiful Alleys, City of Hamilton, Connon Nurseries, Dutra Landscape, Three Seasons Landscape, AVK Nursery Holdings, Arborwood Tree Service, Miller Compost, Budgetbin, Martek Supply, Abingdon Heights, Oriole Landscaping, Wentworth Landscapes, Turf Systems, Al’s Lawnmower, Rock Crest Landscapes, Fibertop, Scotts, and Plant Products.