‘Team Depot’ spruces up Friendship Gardens at Headwaters

July 23, 2015 · 0 Comments

‘Team Depot’ was in Orangeville last Wednesday, July 15th, to help refurbish and spruce up the Friendship Gardens at Headwaters Health Care Centre.
About 60 volunteers from The Home Depot Canada (District 350 Toronto West) spent the day enhancing the gardens and repairing trellises, as well as taking part in an environment project.
“The creation of the Friendship Gardens was the idea of a group of volunteers called Friends of Headwaters and was initiated in 1997 with the opening of the new hospital. The group looked at the new facility and saw a need to beautify its surroundings,” said Lynn Sinclair-Smith, Volunteer, Friendship Gardens Organizer, Headwaters. “The gardens are unique to Headwaters Health Care Centre and a huge success with patients, staff and visitors. They make Headwaters Health Care Centre a special place to receive care. The Friendship Gardens volunteers raise 100 per cent of the funds needed to build and maintain the gardens and over 400 trees.”
Team Depot volunteers (including Preet Gill, District Manager, The Home Depot Canada; Kevin J. Harris, Store Manager, The Home Depot Orangeville; Liz Ruegg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Headwaters; Mike Bendell, Director Facilities and Engineering; Lynn Sinclair-Smith, Volunteer, Friendship Gardens Organizer, Headwaters) came together to give back to our community, in partnership with The Home Depot Canada Foundation.
“Sprucing” included weeding, edging and mulching the large gardens and spruce trees; using metal tee bars to stake 50 trees; repairing and rebuilding the top of the trellis garden; creating space for additional garden space; and installing a picnic table and interlock brick patio.
Materials for the work were supplied by The Home Depot Canada Foundation including natural mulch, soils, tee bars, wood for trellis and pergola, interlock brick, picnic table and environmental weed control cloth.
The Orangeville Home Depot ‘Team Depot’ has also worked on a variety of other local projects since its inception. Most recently they were on hand at Big Brothers Big Sisters to install new flooring at their office on First Avenue.
Team Depot is a program operated by The Home Depot Canada in partnership with The Home Depot Canada Foundation to provide funding to support a variety of initiatives including local hands-on, neighbourhood improvement projects such as this.
For more information on The Home Depot Foundation and Team Depot visit www.homedepot.ca/content/foundation/how-we-help/team-depot
To learn more about volunteering at Headwaters visit www.headwatershealth.ca/volunteering

By Wendy Gabrek

Photos Submitted
Tree Huggers – Members of ‘Team Depot’ from Orangeville Home Depot pose with a tree in the Friendship Gardens at Headwaters Health Care Centre. More than 60 Home Depot volunteers took part in a massive gardening and patio/pergola build at the hospital last Wednesday.