The Garden Club of London is a community organization that was established back in 1951. This organization has a variety of different projects and initiatives within the environmental community in London, mostly focusing on gardening and horticulture. Myself (Ksenia) and Kaitlyn Tyschenko (LEN Communications Coordinator) went to visit Lynne Schmidt at the Civic Garden Centre over the summer to learn more about the Club!

The Garden Club of London’s mission statement is “The promotion of interest in botanical activities through Environmental Awareness, Education, Horticulture and Floral Artistry.” As soon as we entered the Civic Garden Centre, it was clear that they stay true to this mission statement in every sense.

Inside there are many members who come together weekly to make crafts out of natural materials. These include Christmas tree decorations that are painted like different animals as well as wreaths and other natural decorations. The club later sells these crafts at their Craft Sale held in November, which is a major fundraising event for the organization.

The Garden Club also has many significant recent accomplishments, including:

• Through the purchase and planting trees in the Woodland Restoration Project, the Club is a proud partner with Reforest London and The Million Tree Challenge.

• Most recently, on February 27th 2016, the Garden Club of London received recognition for their years of dedicated work in the Woodland from Ontario Parks.

The Garden Club of London is very proud of their Woodland Restoration Project, located in Springbank Park. The Club recreated a woodland environment with over 150 different native plants that all have name tags next to them. This is incredibly useful for people walking through and wondering which native species they can plant on their own properties. There are also many places to rest within the Woodland area and appreciate the surrounding nature. This is a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year – it is located across from the Community Centre along the Maurice Chapman Walkway. You can see a full map of the woodlands here.

Maintenance of the Woodland is done by Garden Club members, who constantly plan and promote it. There are soft woodchip paths that provide a welcoming walking surface. Visit the Woodland Restoration Project soon to see the beautiful autumn colours!

Feel free to walk around the Woodland Restoration Project any time of year. As well, the Garden Club of London is always seeking new members so if you have a green thumb, consider joining this very active organization!

Website for the Garden Club of London: http://gardencluboflondon.ca/
Contact Information: http://gardencluboflondon.ca/contact/email-contact/

Article written by Ksenia Kolodka (Communications Volunteer)