November 11, 2024
Healing garden earns community recognition
On Oct. 7, the Rohan Harrison Healing Garden at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Ont. was presented with the Community Garden Award by the Leaside Garden Society. The award recognizes outstanding community gardens in the Leaside area that are working to support the well-being of the environment, pollinators and people.
The garden was created in November 2013 following the airing of Undercover Boss Canada (season 4, episode 9). It was designed to provide staff and patients with a space for peace, mental and emotional restoration, and a reconnection to nature.
In October 2018, Landscape Ontario and Jackson Ponds donated a pond-less water feature, enhancing the garden's calming atmosphere. In 2024, Landscape Ontario made another donation, adding more perennial plants to the garden. Over the years, the garden has become part of Sunnybrook's broader efforts to create healthy outdoor spaces across its campuses.
Members of Sunnybrook's Green Task Force, Environmental Services and Executive Leadership teams pose with Rohan Harrison (centre holding plaque) and members of the Leaside Garden Society following the award ceremony. Photo credit: Kevin Van Paassen.
"Sunnybrook has developed immense gratitude for greenery over the years and the individuals like Rohan Harrison who bring these spaces to life," says Sunnybrook president and CEO, Dr. Andy Smith. “This garden is proof that when you are dedicated to something you believe in, great things can happen.”
“When you’re part of an association as remarkable as Landscape Ontario, achievements like this are inevitable. Excellence is contagious, and I truly believe that our collective efforts, under LO’s outstanding leadership — including its chapters — have made this possible,” Rohan Harrison said. “I humbly defer any recognition first to the Creator, who guides us all, and next to LO, whose positive leadership continues to inspire and uplift everyone involved.”
Of the 200 garden beds and more than 6,000 trees at the Bayview campus, the Rohan Harrison Healing Garden is a shining example of the great work being done by Sunnybrook's environmental services team to provide a natural sanctuary where patients and families can come and relax.
The beneficial connection between time spent in natural spaces and individual health is now well established and continues to be an important element of many patients' recovery journeys at Sunnybrook.
The garden was created in November 2013 following the airing of Undercover Boss Canada (season 4, episode 9). It was designed to provide staff and patients with a space for peace, mental and emotional restoration, and a reconnection to nature.
In October 2018, Landscape Ontario and Jackson Ponds donated a pond-less water feature, enhancing the garden's calming atmosphere. In 2024, Landscape Ontario made another donation, adding more perennial plants to the garden. Over the years, the garden has become part of Sunnybrook's broader efforts to create healthy outdoor spaces across its campuses.
Members of Sunnybrook's Green Task Force, Environmental Services and Executive Leadership teams pose with Rohan Harrison (centre holding plaque) and members of the Leaside Garden Society following the award ceremony. Photo credit: Kevin Van Paassen.
"Sunnybrook has developed immense gratitude for greenery over the years and the individuals like Rohan Harrison who bring these spaces to life," says Sunnybrook president and CEO, Dr. Andy Smith. “This garden is proof that when you are dedicated to something you believe in, great things can happen.”
“When you’re part of an association as remarkable as Landscape Ontario, achievements like this are inevitable. Excellence is contagious, and I truly believe that our collective efforts, under LO’s outstanding leadership — including its chapters — have made this possible,” Rohan Harrison said. “I humbly defer any recognition first to the Creator, who guides us all, and next to LO, whose positive leadership continues to inspire and uplift everyone involved.”
Of the 200 garden beds and more than 6,000 trees at the Bayview campus, the Rohan Harrison Healing Garden is a shining example of the great work being done by Sunnybrook's environmental services team to provide a natural sanctuary where patients and families can come and relax.
The beneficial connection between time spent in natural spaces and individual health is now well established and continues to be an important element of many patients' recovery journeys at Sunnybrook.