Spend some time in our garden with us, learn more about native plants, and meet new people! One of our goals is to increase the biodiversity of our green space by planting and nurturing native species and pollinator plants.
Upcoming Schedule:
Tuesday, August 27 – 8am-9:30am
Tuesday, Sept 10 – 8am-9:30am
Tuesday, Sept 24 – 8am-9:30am
Anyone is welcome to drop-in; no experience necessary!
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To read our end-of-year report for our 2023 gardening season, please click here.
Join us for our Blessing of the Pets outdoor service on Sunday, June 16th at 10:30am. All pets are welcome – from cats to cockatiels and hamsters to hares!
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In church tradition, the Day of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, has become known as a day to bless animals. The link to St. Francis and blessing animals flows from his theological stance regarding the care of creation and a belief of the interconnectedness of all things.
We will be hosting our EcoFair on Saturday, May 4th from 10am-2pm. It’s a family-friendly event, with activities, food, and vendors for everyone! Entry is free and our building is fully accessible.
There will be many vendors at our Ecofair – you’ll find jewelry made from coffee pods, local honey, handmade soaps, eco-friendly cleaning products, art made from reclaimed materials, and so much more.
Also featured will be non-profit groups who are doing eco-advocacy, a new Beach Home Retrofit group, solar co-ops, promoting native plants, a bike repair station, sewing repair station, a repair/reuse hub, and volunteers explaining a biodiversity count project.
There will be games and activities for all ages including a reading circle for small children. We’ll also have Indian street food in reusable containers and chai tea and smoothies to tempt your taste buds!
We have an exciting list of speakers lined up as well!
11am: Buying Food Sustainably
Ronna Manalo, George Brown Chef School 3rd year student/ Gold Organic Campus Designation
12pm: Find out about the new Beach Home Retrofit Group
John Girardo, founding member
1pm: Learn about ElerGreen a new green startup turning waste into energy
Hui Huang Hoe, founder and inventor, UofT engineering student
For photos and videos of our EcoFair last year, please take a look at our Facebook and Instagram posts!
This event has been sponsored by Switch Heat Pumps, Shining Waters Regional Council, LID Permeable Paving and Toronto Hydro.
Come experience local big band, The OCTOKATS, as they treat you all to ‘Martinis with Mancini’ – a special exploration of the musical mind of American film composer Henry Mancini on Saturday, April 6th at 4:30pm.
You may reserve your seats at this link. Entry is pay-what-you-can.
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Henry Mancini, born as Enrico Nicola Mancini, was an American Composer extraordinaire! So how is it that this remarkable individual who had 18 Academy Award nominations with 4 wins, 11 Golden Globe nominations with 1 win, and an astounding 75 Grammy Nominations with 20 wins would have a split personality? While one side of his brain would function to achieve very orchestral compositions and arrangements for the movie industry, the other side would focus on the very essence of hip, Cool West Coast Jazz! Known to his friends and colleagues simply as “Hank”, in the late 50s and 60s his iconic work for the Peter Gunn TV series featured many tunes that had a cool vibe reminiscent of other West Coast Jazz artists such as Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper and Shorty Rogers. Stay tuned as The OCTOKATS treat you all with an exploration of the darker, hip vibe from the mind of Mancini!
The OCTOKATS, formed in 2012, specialize in a type of jazz that is quite different from the mainstream jazz bands around the GTA and offer something unique and different. West Coast Jazz was a style of Jazz that was developed in the Los Angeles area in and around the time of the 1950’s. This was the very beginning of the essence of Cool Jazz. Unlike many of the big bands, West Coast Jazz simply focuses on arrangements that are less frenetic yet enriched with smooth voicing and are heavily arranged. This style is very relaxed and calming, a perfect combination for either easy listening or dancing. Sorely missing from the Toronto Jazz scene, The OCTOKATS have resurrected this West Coast Cool Groove while breathing new life into the music with a fresh new zeal.
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Proceeds go towards supporting our musicians and making our concerts accessible, while also supporting Beach United’s year-round community programs.