2025 Events
Wildflower Giveaway – June 14, 2025
On June 14th, to mark the start of Pollinator Week 2025, we gave away 1,000 native wildflowers! We were very happy that hundreds of people were able to come out on a beautiful day to learn about host plants, and the importance of planting for pollinators.
Nature Talks at Guild Park
Friends of Guild Park and the Guildwood Butterflyway Project co-hosted three free nature talks at Guild Park over the summer. All talks took place at the award-winning Pollinator Garden near the Sculptor’s Cabin.
Saturday, July 12, 2025, 10 am – 12 pm: Tree Tour
Our first event of 2025 was held on Saturday, July 12th. This was a tree talk and walking tour led by Anne Purvis of Toronto Nature Stewards. It focused on the identification of both native trees and shrubs in Guild Park, as well as invasive species such as European Buckthorn.
Saturday, August 23, 2025, 10 am – 12 pm: Seed Saving
Sandra Bill of Toronto Nature Stewards and the Bendale Butterflyway presented a fascinating talk on how to save native wildflower seeds and grow them to start your own pollinator garden. All participants went home with a supply of free seeds (and some seedlings) from Guild Park’s Pollinator Garden.
Saturday, September 13, 2025, 10 am – 12 pm: Bird and Butterfly Migration
Ann Brokelman, popular Guildwood wildlife and bird expert and raiser of butterflies and moths, presented an entertaining talk about Guild Park’s location as an important waypoint on the migratory route of many birds and migratory butterflies such as Monarchs and Red Admirals.
Past Events
Guild Park Pollinator Garden – City of Toronto Top Prize Winner October 2024
We were honoured to receive the first place prize from the City of Toronto for Best Community Garden in 2024! If you are visiting Guild Park this summer, please stop by to see the garden and learn more about what you can do to support biodiversity by planting for pollinators. Community volunteers continue to act as stewards of the garden, meeting every Friday morning to weed and plant, from May to October. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here: https://signup.com/go/dSxAXoD
Pollinator Week Wildflower Giveaway June 2024
On June 15, 2024, to celebrate Pollinator Week and the beautiful 80 square metre pollinator garden at Guild Park, we gave away hundreds of native wildflowers. This event was held in conjunction with the Guildwood Village Tree & Shrub Giveaway. This year there were close to 1,000 trees and shrubs given away, courtesy of the City of Toronto’s Neighbourhood Tree Giveaway Program, the Guildwood Village Community Association and Friends of Guild Park.
Native Plant Sale May 2024
Our last annual native plant sale was held in May 2024 and we sold out the first weekend! Our sale focused on host plants and boulevard plants. You can find our list of host plants and the butterflies and moths that they support on our Resources page.
Guildwood Village Park Canoe Restoration Spring 2023
One of the first projects undertaken by the Guildwood Butterflyway was the planting of three canoes in Guildwood Village Park in 2018. By the spring of 2023, they were overgrown with goldenrod and sorely in need of refurbishment. With the help of adult volunteers and students from St. Ursula Catholic School and Guildwood Junior Public School, we emptied the canoes, painted and decorated them and replanted them with native plants in early June.
The first Butterflyway canoes were planted by Butterflyway Rangers in downtown Toronto in 2017 and were originally conceived as a fun way to mark the lost rivers of Toronto, which over time have been buried beneath our city’s streets. Today we also plant the canoes with native plants to acknowledge the indigenous people who were the first stewards of this land.
The Guildwood Butterflyway Blooming Boulevards Project
In 2023, a PollinateTO grant provided funding to the Guildwood Butterflyway to convert five Guildwood boulevards from sterile turf to healthy and beautiful pollinator gardens that support our native bees, birds and butterflies.
Below are some pics of the five 2023 gardens in progress as of June 18, 2023. Watch for these when you are out walking in the neighbourhood. They are on Sylvan, Forsythia, Sir Raymond and Scarcliff. The Sylvan garden is actually made up of two adjoining boulevards belonging to neighbours who created this lovely meandering ribbon!
For more information on the project, please contact Allison Murray at gwbutterflyway@gmail.com
A beautiful example of a boulevard garden completed in Mississauga in 2021:
Guild Park Pollinator Garden Opening – June 2023
The grand opening of Guild Park’s new pollinator garden was held under blue skies on the afternoon of Saturday June 17th. After a massive tree giveaway in the morning (800 native trees and shrubs went to new homes), we had a native wildflower giveaway in the afternoon and were entertained by local musician Jay Moonah. We also unveiled our beautiful new sign, designed by local artist Keith Ly.
This beautiful 80 square metre garden was planted in the fall of 2022 with hundreds of native wildflowers blooming from spring to fall, supporting insects, birds and other wildlife in the area, which is an important waypoint on the migratory routes of many birds and butterflies. This project was undertaken by the Guildwood Butterflyway working with Friends of Guild Park and community volunteers with financial support provided by the City of Toronto’s PollinateTO program and LiveGreen Toronto.
For the complete plant list please click here:
Native Plant Sale May 2023
This year was our largest native plant sale yet, with an expanded list of wonderful wildflowers, grasses and shrubs that went to gardens in Guildwood and well beyond. Watch for news of our Spring 2024 sale in the new year!
Guildwood Day Vendors Market June 2023
Guildwood Day is a fantastic opportunity to meet hundreds of people and talk about native plants and the importance of their support for bees, butterflies and birds. We sold our leftover native plants, made seed bombs with the kids, and handed out lots of information. We will see you again next year!
The Guildwood Butterflyway Project 