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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 12 ,2 01 8 | 10 2003 Willow Park hosted its first workshop called "Naturalization Gardening." The centre contin- ues to offer a whole host of educa- tion and skills-based workshops each year. 2003 The chimney swift bird tower was installed at Willow Park to provide the birds with a breeding habitat. Recently, heat sensors were installed to help research- ers monitor the birds and see how often the tower is used. 2004 Willow Park developed an In- ternational Migratory Bird Day event that ran for several years afterwards. The event invited residents to learn more about mi- gratory birds in their area. 2008 Willow Park Ecology Centre incorporated and developed a new strategic plan that would take them into 2012. The park se- cured a three-year grant, which was put toward developing new programming for a broader audi- ence. 2010 Willow Park officially launched its summer camp pro- grams. The programs offer a jam- packed itinerary that immerses children in nature, allowing them to explore local animals and plants. Willow Park's cur- rent summer camp program runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for the months of July and August. For more infor- mation, visit the summer camp page. 2010 Willow Park officially launched programs for Girl Guides and Scouts Canada. The park offers badge and award pro- grams that provide children and youth with hands-on learning ex- periences. 2010 Willow Park received its sec- ond Award of Merit. 2011 The programming was en- hanced through a "complementa- ry seven-program system for suc- cess," including the Youth Volun- teer Mentorship program. It has since been further developed and defined. Willow Park has approx- imately 30 to 40 volunteers each year who learn to steward the park through various tasks in- cluding caring for the trail sys- tem, habitat conservation and planting. 2014 The Hungry Hollow Collabo- rative, led by Willow Park Ecol- ogy Centre, was first proposed in 2014 to remove invasive species from the area and plant new trees and shrubs. Since 2014, Willow Park has successfully removed buckthorn from 20 hectares of land. Throughout this process, 1,500 plants of 15 varieties have been planted and 400 volunteers have been trained. 2014 "Stewardship Wednesdays" began to encourage community members to get involved in hands-on stewardship projects. 2015 In 2015, Willow Park planted its first medicine wheel garden to establish a defined space that ho- nours the Anishinaabe peoples of the area. It will receive a makeov- er through further research about Indigenous traditions in the coming months. The garden has four direction- al beds to house plants based on native teachings. To date, the garden has been home to a vari- ety of Indigenous traditional plants including the purple cone- flower, sweetgrass, bergamot and Joe-Pye weed. 2016 In 2016, Willow Park Ecology Centre received an Award of Merit in honour of its community engagement and leadership in re- gards to the Hungry Hollow Col- laborative. 2017 Willow Park received the Arts Alive Award heritage award in 2017 from the Halton Hills Cultur- al Roundtable. 2017 Phase 2 of the Hungry Hollow Collaborative began in 2017. Throughout that summer, volun- teers removed buckthorn from denser areas and planted 450 na- tive trees in the area. 2017 In 2017, Willow Park secured a grant from Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, allowing the centre to make improvements to its "Get to Know Nature Near You" educa- tion programs. 2018 In 2018, Willow Park applied for Phase 3 of the Hungry Hollow Collaborative. This year, Phase 3 will deliver more ravine ecology enhance- ment work through a $99,000 pro- ject. This will include $45,000 in grants from the Ministry of Natu- ral Resources' Land Stewardship and Habitat Restoration Pro- gram and others. COMMUNITY l Continued from page 8 Science at the heart of Willow Park "It's not about conserving nature over here and living over there; it's learning to live together," park manager Tunde Otto said of the role of Willow Park Ecology Centre. The park will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on July 14. Veronica Appia/Metroland 221 Miller Dr., Georgetown 905-873-6776 www.GenesisHealthTeam.com WALK-IN & FAMILY CLINICFAMILY CLINIC Walk-in and Appointment Call for details Miller Dr. M ou nt ai nv ie w Rd .S 8t h Li ne M ai n St 15 Sd. Rd. Eaton St. 10 Side Rd Opposite to Allison's Farm Market