I’ve often admired the lush greens as we pass by the DVP to and from downtown. It is always nice to see trees lining the highway. Now I'm thinking, maybe they were intentionally placed there to relax motorists when the highway practically turns into a huge parking lot during rush hour. Nonetheless, it is intriguing to discover what lies beyond.
Among the flourishing trees lies Evergreen Brickworks, a community environmental centre promoting green, sustainable living. There, one will find old brick structures interspersed with gardens. The Koerner gardens are the setting for ice-skating in the winter and are also a demonstration space for school and community activities. Beside it is the garden market which is a haven for garden enthusiasts—both experts and beginners.
After checking the gardens out, we browsed the interesting store beside Café Belong which housed a variety of items from food to wooden toys. Needless to say, items were green, organic, or made from recycled material. Then, Hubby and the kids set off for Chimney court where the kids enjoyed playing in the sand, watering plants, playing with bubbles and reading books. The graffiti-laden brick wall on one side of the play area gave me the feeling that my kids were playing in the back alley of some ghetto. Opposite this wall, the chimney and the greenhouse were a definite contrast, making the ambience more like a very interesting backyard. The kids set off to get some watering cans and started watering the plants near the greenhouse. With several kids having the same idea, those plants surely did not get thirsty in the heat wave.
Meanwhile, grandma and I went to the Pavillion for a look-see of the Farmers’ market. As we checked out tables upon tables of organic and fresh produce we were entertained by live music from local musicians. There were also some stalls serving cooked food. We didn’t know which made us hungrier—the smell of freshly-made crepes or that of the paella cooking in the huge pan.
After getting our fill of the Farmer’s market, we met up with hubby and the kids and proceeded to the Weston Quarry garden, which consisted of ponds and trails converted from a quarry. As we walked along the boardwalk, we were treated to the sight of a couple of turtles in the watershed. Beyond the boardwalk, we trekked on to a combination of rough and paved trails and beautiful foliage. Promoting green, the park highly encourages biking. It looked like a fantastic place for biking as evidenced by the many bikers we saw along the way. Surely some of them headed on to Bike works (also in the complex) either for some DIY bike repairs or to return their rented bikes. How I wish we had time to go biking!
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| the trails behind the bricks |
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| one of the residents |
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| watershed |
After our walk, we cooled down at the Young welcome centre before heading to the kilns--not that we were expecting the kilns to be functional. The kilns stood to validate the industrial heritage of this site. One can take guided tours or walk around and take in the various art installations throughout the structure. There was much to explore before heading home.
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| at the Kilns |
It was a nice discovery. It was even better to note that this centre is open year-round with a myriad of fun activities for the family.
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