Wintergreen Studios is collaborating with Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na (TTO) on a land restoration project at the Kenhtè:ke Language and Cultural Centre, launched with a $486,600 Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Grow Grant. The project focuses on deepening the connection between people and nature through Indigenous ecological knowledge, sustainable land management, and traditional cultural practices. The restoration efforts will focus on two acres of the nine-acre site, including the forests and open spaces surrounding the cultural centre.
Funding announcement: June 2025
Hastings-Lennox & Addington MPP Ric Breese joined Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na (TTO) and Wintergreen Studios to announce the $486,600 OTF Grow Grant.
Getting to know the land: June 2025 - Sept 2025
During the summer months and into the early fall we spend a lot of time exploring the land, getting to know its unique features (so much sand, so much buckthorn!) as well as beginning to plan planting zones and identifying the flora and fauna. Last, but certainly not least, we started clearing the invasives. In addition to the buckthorn, we pulled wild parsnip and thistles.
First plantings: October 2025
In October we inoculated several logs of hardwood (including buckthorn!) with mushroom plugs containing the beginnings of shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Wood chips were filled with wine cap mushroom spores. And we planted our first trees — Seckel pears and pecans. To say nothing of the thousands of milkweed seeds we tossed about in carefully formed seed balls. Milkweed is one of the plants that suffered in construction and we aim to not only bring them back, but to exceed the quantity and variety that was there before construction began.
Planning the Zones and Play Areas: Nov 2025 - January 2026
Just a sample of one of many spreadsheets detailing the 1,361 plants ordered for the spring of 2026!
We soon realized that the site as a whole was much too complicated to treat as a single entity. We spent time dividing the landscape into 8 zones, and while the snow covered the ground in the winter months, we spent time researching plants for the landscape, drawing gardens, ordering cuttings and trees, and generally preparing for spring.
Additional Funders: January 2026
In addition to the generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, our project has received funds from several other organizations and individuals. The OTF funding covers staffing and organizational needs. The funders we acknowledge here are contributing to plants and tools at both the TTO and Wintergreen sites. We are grateful. Private donors have also generously supported the Land Restoration Project.
Food Forest
Winter school programming: February 2026
Oh happy day! We had our first day of programming with all of the students from the school. For many of them, it was the first time they saw the site and the building. We roasted apples, built snow forts, identified species, went snowshoeing, distributed seed balls (thousands of milkweed seeds), sledded down the hill, and enjoyed lunch by the fire.
Preparing for Spring: March 2026
Dead ash trees were removed, Buckthorn and Manitoba Maple (invasives) were mulched, and we scraped away the vegetation from the old foundations. We prepared new foundations for two sheds and a greenhouse, and cleared the planting areas of hazardous debris. And made some paths! Thanks to Butler Tree Service for a stellar job on the dead trees. And to Chuck and his amazing skid steer. We topped off the work bee with a new shed in the children’s garden area and the beginnings of a gathering circle which will include a fire pit, seating, and raised garden beds.
School programming: April 2026
Another great day with the students, parents, and teachers from the school. We built raised gardens, refined the trails in the children’s area, planted willow and elderberry, and gathered around the children’s fire area where we ate lunch and roasted apples once again. There was lots of time to play, too, especially on the big branches of the maples at the corner of the property.
Greenhouse Build, Community Planting Day #2 and GRAND Opening: May 2026
The changes on the land are happening as fast as spring growth. We finished our big greenhouse (and moved the children’s greenhouse to the site), held the second community planting day, planned gardens, and joyfully took part in the official grand opening on May 23. Wintergreen received funding from CFKA to work on a parallel project (foraging forest, here we come). And, oh! That Eastern Rose Bud. What a beauty! What a month!
Planting and Land Stewardship: June 2026
We had another successful Community Planting Day in mid-June, bringing the total number of new trees and shrubs and plants to well over 2,000. Little red flags everywhere! Planting them is one thing… taking care of them is another thing altogether! We refined our weeding and watering systems to make the work easier (and will continue to do so). We also planted the vegetable garden, next to the greenhouse and shed. The children’s garden flourished, with strawberries for the picking all summer long and beautiful annuals providing colour for those gathering at the circle.
Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth: July & August 2026
We were joined by a group of youth in July and August both at Wintergreen and KLCC. Youth were engaged in a wide variety of projects including the never-ending weeding and watering, tending the food gardens, building raised beds, staining our sheds, building nesting boxes (at Wintergreen, later installed at KLCC), restoring Wintergreen’s pond, and creating and maintaining trails on both sites. Last but not least, youth gained various carpentry skills through the erection of a gazebo, which will serve as an outdoor meeting space and a shaded area for garden work.
