We Design, plant, and care for

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 Earth-friendly landscapes.
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Book a free 45 min consultation to learn about the best options for your property and get a no-obligation quote.
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home Services

We are a social enterprise offering:

 

  • Landscape Consultations
  • Rainscape design & installation
  • Rain harvesting (rain barrels)
  • Do-it-yourself Eco-garden kits
  • Organic Garden Maintenance
  • Garden Clean-ups & makeovers
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community & business services

We work with Neighbourhood Groups, BIAs and Faith Groups to provide customized services to help the membership base. Connect with us for:

  • Streetscape and public space transformation with raingardens, pollinator plantings and more
  • Maintenance and makeover of parkettes and planter boxes
  • Community gardens and planting events
  • Raingarden and Eco Garden Workshops
  • Community Events and Walking Tours
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RAINSCAPING – WHAT IT IS ABOUT & WHY

Rainscaping is a NEW earth friendly way of gardening with wonderful benefits for you, your community and nature. Rainscapes are specially designed to capture, retain, and manage rain on your property and also enhance your life on many other levels.

Rainscaping includes strategies such as rain water harvesting, composting and care for the soil, organic garden management, permeable paving, rain gardens, bioswales, woodland restoration and pocket forests, and stream bank restoration if you have a creek in your garden.  

A rain garden is a small bowl shaped area in the garden that catches water from roof and driveway and allows it to soak into the ground instead of flowing over the road into the sewers and the lake.  This reduces flooding and keeps pollutants out of the lake.

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 learn your preferences needs and garden dreams, then work with nature to provide a great solution for your lifestyle and the needs of your family.

Inspired by Your Local Historic Ecosystem

We bring our deep knowledge of local historic ecosystems to develop a solution specifically adapted to your soil system.

Protect Your Property & Reduce Neighbourhood Flooding

Rainscaping helps solve basement flooding issues, erosion, and local flooding issues.

Less Maintenance & Need to Water the Garden

Less noise and air pollution from gas mowers and leaf blowers.

Indigenous Knowledge & Modern Techniques

We work with members of Canada’s First Nations communities, alongside with experienced Landscapers to design a garden like no other.

Increase Property Value & Curb Appeal

A beautiful garden that is on trend can add to the resale value of your house and enhance the neighbourhood.

Recharge Groundwater

Encouraging infiltration of rainwater allows for the rejuvenation of our groundwater sources; an important supply of fresh and clean drinking water.

Protect Rivers & Lakes

With a rain garden water soaks into the ground instead of flowing over dirty roads to pick up oil gas salt and heavy metals that end up in the lake and rivers.  Organic garden care prevents pollution from chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Jose Torcal, Manager

Jose holds a Master in Civil Engineering and has over 6 years of experience working in urban sustainability and public space across 4 different countries. Jose is focused on supporting the global movement towards sustainable communities and has a strong commitment to collaborate across sectors and organizations to address climate change and improve our cities, starting from the community.

Prior to joining RAINscapeTO, Jose was a Program Manager in the Sustainable Neighbourhoods team at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).

Alexandra Langford-Pezzo, Eco-landscaper Lead

Alex is an Urban Cree from Missanabie Cree First Nation, owner of L.P Design and has been working with RainscapeTO since 2015.  With 10 years of horticultural and landscaping knowledge, she focuses on ecologically beneficial gardens such as native plant and pollinator gardens, rain gardens and seasonal urn arrangements. Alexandra has also specialized in the creation of Traditional and Neo-Traditional Medicine Wheel Gardens with several projects in the City of Toronto.

Her connection to the earth started at a young age and has been reinforced as she grew up. Starting as a traditional landscaper, Alexandra felt that there was a lack of partnership between the gardens she was creating and the surrounding environment. She has since shifted her business to include her indigenous perspective. By acknowledging the history of plants maintaining a huge role in the larger ecosystem, the revelation of creating beneficial gardens started.

As an urban Indigenous woman, Alexandra brings her perspective to creating beneficial gardens and green spaces in the city that will inspire people to utilize and see their local environment as more than aesthetic. Alexandra hopes to lead the next team of Rainscapers to develop not only their technical skills and knowledge, but develop their personal skills that will act as building blocks for all of their following endeavors

Reno King, Community Lead

Reno joined RAINscapeTO in 2017 and has been assisting in the creation of rain gardens and other eco landscaping projects. He continues to learn and grow from his experiences with RAINscapeTO and is looking forward to putting in hard work and energy to become the greatest rainscaper of all time.

Prior to RAINscapeTO Reno joined Toronto Green Community as a Rivers Rising Ambassador. Reno has since coordinated and lead several walking tours within the city of Toronto talking about indigenous history, community gardening, our wildlife, and the lost rivers of Toronto.

Moving forward Reno intends on working on new gardens, while increasing RAINscapeTO’s social media presence and taking a leadership role with program participants.

Helen Mills, Program Advisor

Helen has been involved with TGC since its inception, most specifically as a former board member, co-
developer of the Green Garden Visit, founding partner of Green Gardeners Community Collaborative

(GGCC), key player in the establishment of Eglinton Park Heritage Community Garden, and founder of Lost
Rivers, a project that connects people with the lost watersheds and water infrastructure of the city through
walking tours, storytelling, eco-interventions and online maps and information. Helen is an independent
landscape design consultant and garden educator who has been researching and building residential rain
gardens since 2008. Helen has been and will continue to consult on the ongoing development of
RAINscapeTO which was launched as a pilot program by TGC in 2016.

Paula Messina, Human Resources Advisor

Paula joined TGC in 2008 as a Volunteer Manager, and is currently the Executive Director. She brings over 25 years of non-profit experience in various sectors including environment, newcomer settlement, health, social justice and human rights issues with a focus on Indigenous issues, and skills in project management, community outreach and development, human resources, marketing and communications, event coordination, fundraising, administration, and strategic planning. Paula has provided training, supervision and peer support to a wide range of staff and volunteers from diverse and vulnerable communities. Paula is well-positioned to lead the social outcomes of this enterprise.

ABOUT US – OUR TEAM

Our staff consist of young adults from Indigenous communities who share their knowledge and perspective on sustainable living while working with our experienced landscaping leadership. Working along side engineers and experienced landscapers, these young adults develop industry experience, apply their unique techniques to your property, and build a brighter future for all. RAINscapeTO is a program of Toronto Green Community (TGC), a non-profit engaging neighbourhoods, promoting diversity, and building sustainable communities across Toronto since 1995.

Edible & Pollinator Plants

Garden Consultations

Community Workshops

Squared Meters of Gardens

Our Latest Work

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.
Testimonials
Hear from our customers (home owners and organizations), partners, as well as some of the Indigenous staff who are a part of our project about the impact we’ve had.
“We love that RAINscapeTO is a social enterprise, and that the RAINscapers are so friendly, knowledgeable and very hardworking. Thanks so much for helping create our beautiful rain garden that is capturing water that was running right into our basement before.”
Adrienne and Myra

The Annex

“Having RAINscapeTO create and work on our very large (and previously empty) garden was a wonderful experience. They were a pleasure to deal with and were absolutely accommodating, skilled and enthusiastic; they treated our garden as if it were their own. They worked extremely well together.”
Ellen

Port Credit

“Working at Toronto Green Community has been an amazing experience so far. I have come to care about the environment and all the creatures that live in it… When I first joined Toronto Green Community, as a Rivers Rising ambassador, I learned about the condition of our water and how it affects us and our planet.”
Reno King

RAINscaper

“We truly have a wonderful group of dedicated and passionate people in RAINscapeTO who take the time to design not just a garden, but a masterpiece. This social enterprise gives Torontonians an opportunity to adapt to the changing climate with a sustainable and useful solution.”
Daniel Hsia

Chair, Toronto Green Community

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 jose@torontogreen.ca .

 To book a free consultation please fill the form by clicking on the button below  

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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