BEAUTIFUL
EARTH FRIENDLY
GARDENS
RAINscapeTO is a social enterprise based in Toronto that offers eco-landscaping services with a focus on the installation of rain gardens and other beautiful sustainable landscapes.
Book a 45 min consultation to learn about the best options for your property and get a no-obligation quote. The cost of the consultation is $85 (HST inc),
which will be fully reimbursed if you hire us for any services (design, implementation, maintenance).
If this fee represents a barrier for you, let us know and we will decrease or waive it.
residential
Since its inception in 2016, RAINscapeTO has worked in over 100 gardens across the city of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
Our services include:
- Garden consultation and design services.
- Implementation of rain gardens, pollinator gardens and other sustainable landscapes.
- Front yard and backyard clean-ups & ongoing garden maintenance. Planting and maintenance of green infrastructure such as bio-swales and infiltration trenches.
- Water management, including rainwater harvesting (rain barrels), infiltration trenches and soak-away pits.
community & businesses
We work in the public and private sectors with neighbourhood associations, Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and faith-based groups to provide customized eco-landscaping services that improve communities and foster land stewardship. Connect with us for:
- Public space and streetscape transformation with raingardens, pollinator plantings and more.
- Streetscape planting makeover and maintenance of tree pits, parkettes and planter boxes.
- Planting and maintenance of green infrastructure such as bio-swales and infiltration trenches.
- Community vegetable gardens and planting events.
- Team building workshops and hands-on training.
Since 2021, the City of Toronto has partnered with RAINscapeTO and Building Up in a new project to hire and train individuals experiencing barriers to employment for the maintenance of bio-swales, pollinator gardens and other green spaces that are critical to improve neighbourhoods’ climate resiliency and biodiversity. The pilot, called GreenForceTO, creates local green jobs in landscaping and property maintenance, builds employment skills, and aims to develop career pathways for community members. Visit www.toronto.ca/greenforceto for more information.
OUR APPROACH
RAINscapeTO delivers eco-landscaping solutions that contribute to the local ecosystem by:
- Capturing, retaining and managing rain on your property.
- Planting native species that support pollinators.
- Avoiding the use of power tools and chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
We specialize in rain gardens, a small bowl-shaped area in the garden that catches water from your roof and driveway, and allows it to soak into the ground instead of flowing over the road into the sewers and rivers and lakes. This reduces flooding, nurtures your garden and keeps pollutants out of rivers and lakes.
RAINscapeTO is an employment social enterprise that operates as a fully-insured landscaping company while providing meaningful and culturally-sensitive employment to urban Indigenous peoples. As original stewards of the land and waters, Indigenous peoples play a key role in the regeneration of soils, gardens, water cycle and especially our relationship with urban ecosystems.
Wages to trainees
Trainees Employed
Garden consultations
Native Plants
Square Meters of Gardens
Beautiful Gardens
We focus on beautiful native plants that attract butterflies, pollinators and birds. Your garden will have four season interest and will contribute to biodiversity.
Focused on You
We listen carefully to your preferences, needs and garden dreams. We then work with nature to provide a tailored solution for your lifestyle.
Inspired by Your Local Ecosystem
We bring our deep knowledge of regional ecosystems to develop a solution specifically adapted to your soil type, current plants and sun exposure.
Protect Your Property & Reduce Neighbourhood Flooding
Rain gardens help alleviate basement flooding, erosion, and local flooding issues.
Less Maintenance & Need to Water the Garden
Native plants are adapted to the climate and rain gardens keep the moisture in your garden.
Indigenous Knowledge & Perspective
We value Indigenous knowledge and perspective towards our land and waters. Our Indigenous landscaping team fosters a relationship between green spaces and landscaping practices.
Increase Property Value & Curb Appeal
A beautiful and sustainable garden can add to the value of your house and enhance the neighbourhood.
Recharge Groundwater
Encouraging rainwater infiltration allows for the rejuvenation of our groundwater sources; an important supply of fresh and clean water.
Protect Rivers & Lakes
With a rain garden, storm water soaks into the ground instead of flowing over roads to pick up oil, gas, salt and heavy metals that end up in the rivers and lakes.
gallery
Our small but capable team at work, or a sneak peak at some of the projects that are already being enjoyed by the property owners.
About us
We are a team of experienced landscapers, landscape architects and engineers who work alongside trainees in an inclusive environment that nurtures sharing of ideas, knowledge, and different worldviews. Through hands-on training and mentorship, we have established a strong foundation on which to continue building a social enterprise that increasingly incorporates traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge and practices as more Indigenous staff join our team. The long-term goal for RAINscapeTO is to become an Indigenous-led and run social enterprise.
RAINscapeTO is a program of Toronto Green Community, a non-profit organization that has inspired, and supported diverse communities in developing an environmentally sustainable city through education, engagement and joint neighbourhood initiatives since 1995.
In accordance with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, we are making efforts to advance reconciliation with Indigenous people through Call to Action #92: Business and Reconciliation, which reads in part:
“ii. Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.
iii. Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.”
Careers
As an employment social enterprise, we focus on creating career pathways in the landscaping industry that represent an opportunity for culturally meaningful employment for Indigenous and BIPOC peoples in an urban setting.
Are you interested in joining RAINscapeTO? We regularly post our openings on Instagram, goodwork.ca and via Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training. You can also send us an email if you want to be informed of future opportunities.
Testimonials
Let US Start Planting
Get in touch!
If you have any questions about our services or for community involvement opportunities send us an email to [email protected] .
To book a consultation please fill in a form by clicking on the button below.
F.A.Q
Are you a fully operating company?
Yes, we have all the necessary permits and qualifications to operate. We are a fully-insured through WSIB, commercial liability and vehicle insurance.
Do you provide design services?
Yes, for larger or more complex properties we do provide design services led by a Landscape Architect. The process normally includes an initial consultation, a first round of sketches for client’s feedback and a final sketch. For smaller or less complicated yards we provide a planting list and description of the work as the cost of the design would be comparable to the cost of the actual implementation. Contact us if you have questions.
Do you provide lawn care services?
No, we do not do traditional lawn care but would be happy to transform your lawn into a vibrant biodiverse ecosystem. We replace lawns, which are often a non-native monoculture that provides little benefits to water retention and local ecosystems, with raingardens and pollinator gardens full of native plants.
I have a front lawn, would you help me remove it and replace it with native plants?
Definitely, this is one of our favourite projects. We do not dig the grass out because it is expensive (transporting soil and paying for disposal at a private dump) and unsustainable (removing nutrients from your property and bringing soil from somewhere else). Instead, we replace the lawn by using sheet mulching (aka lasagna gardening) which consists of adding three layers of materials on top of the grass. First, we add a layer of cardboard, then a layer of organic compost, and finally a layer of undyed mulch. We water the three layers to kick-start the process, in which the carbon from the cardboard reacts with the nitrogen from the grass and, after a few months, you have rich soil with no grass. We plant directly into the sheet mulching layers. That way both processes happen simultaneously: the grass is being composted and the new plants have a moist and rich soil in which to get established.
You just finished the garden and it looks a bit empty, why is that?
Gardens are natural systems that take time to grow and evolve. We often use young (small) plants and place them according to their potential growth size so gardens may look a bit sparse at the beginning. Plants will self-propagate through their seeds and root systems over time. The garden just needs time to grow and fill in! It’s important to be patient and enjoy how your property is working with nature!
You use native plants and build raingardens, does it mean I do not need to water my yard?
We select native plants that work well in your ecosystem and under your local conditions (sunlight, soil type) and that means plants are more resilient and need less watering. However we do recommend regular watering during the first 2 years as the plants are young and need time and care to get established. After that, your garden should thrive without watering except for extended periods of drought or heat waves.
Do you build or maintain patios, fences, irrigation systems, green roofs or water ponds?
No, we do not provide hardscaping services (fences, decks, patios, fountains, roofing) except for the use of flagstone in some of our pathways. We also disconnect and redirect downspouts but only at the ground level (we do not do eavestroughs). Green roofs, ponds and irrigation systems are also out of our scope. However we have relationships with hardscaping contractors and can put you in touch so they can give you a quote.
My garden renovation includes hardscaping (eg. a patio and a new fence) – should I wait until it is complete before contacting you?
Gardening (softscaping) is the last part of any yard renovation project because hardscaping contractors might need space to store materials onsite or move machinery. They could compact the soil and potentially damage plants in your new garden. We recommend waiting until all the hardscaping has been done in order to start with the softscaping.
However, we also suggest that you contact us as early as possible in the process so we can provide input on the hardscaping design (e.g. making sure downspouts drain towards the right area or slopes are planned properly) and have enough time to work on the garden design. That way we are ready and can move into implementation as soon as the hardscaping is done.
Made Possible THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF
Land acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge Toronto as a sacred gathering place for many people of Turtle Island. We recognize the long history of First Nations people in Ontario and show respect to the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinabek, and the Mississaugas of the Credit.The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. This territory is also covered by the Upper Canada Treaties.Today, Toronto is a home and meeting place for Indigenous people from across Turtle Island. We are grateful to be here.– Chi Miigwetch, Kinanaskomitin, Nia:wen, Maarsi, Yaw^ko, Tiawenhk.