There’s nothing like giving dad a dinosaur on Father’s Day. Some of the kids who joined us in the Orchard last Sunday plan on doing just that. They attended our make a Father’s Day card workshop – one of our free community events at the Harvest Table.

Tarah Feder from The Paper Boutique (875 Eglinton Ave. West, Unit 5) hosted the kids workshop. The invitation and printing shop brought cards depicting dinos, dogs, horses and even a Superman that kids could colour in for their dads.

The kids did a fantastic job, and even some adult visitors were seen colouring in a card or two for the men in their lives. Thanks to The Paper Boutique for coming to spend time with our community! We hope they will come back again and join us soon.

Earlier in the day, five volunteers helped weed our pollinator garden. All the rain this year has been great for our perennials, which have sprung out of the ground with vigour this past month. But of course the weeds follow suit, so the stewardship team need to be on the job at least twice a month.

The scarlet red poppies in the pollinator garden are breathtaking and can be seen from across the park. The serviceberries are forming and should be ready to harvest in a few weeks. And our new babies (the new cherry and plum trees we planted this year to replace the two trees that had to be removed) are doing well.

Don’t miss our upcoming martial arts day on June 26. Classical Martial Arts (978 Eglinton Ave. W.) will host a free martial arts workshop at 1 p.m. And later that evening, come back at 8:30 p.m., to see our outdoor movie feature, the Karate Kid (2010), hosted by our city councillor Joe Mihevc.

Growing for Green was busy with fruit tree care workshops in April and May. But now that the trees are settling in for the summer, we have more time to plan other community events in the park.

This week, we kicked off a series of free events in the Orchard with our Learn to Knit workshop. Haley Waxberg of Knit-O-Matic hosted the event, which attracted a gaggle of moms and kids (12 of us in total) who came out to our harvest table to learn to knit.

Some people brought their own supplies. And for those who didn’t have yarn or needles, Haley donated supplies from her shop. The kids were quick to learn the basic stitches, and one young participant even finished a hot pink scarf during the event (OK, full disclosure…she started the project a few days ago).

Everyone had so much fun that we’re considering holding a knitting circle in the Orchard the first Sunday of every month while the weather is good. We’re aiming for July 3, 2011 for our first get together but keep an eye on our website events page for further details.

Next in our roster of June events is the Make a Father’s Day card on Sunday, June 12, 2011 hosted by The Paper Boutique. They’ll bring the supplies, you bring the kids, and help Dad celebrate his special day.