St. James Park is receiving a makeover that promises to leave it in even better shape than it was prior to the Occupy Toronto protest.
A number of greening and landscaping organizations and companies have banded together with more than 200 volunteers to re-sod the park, spread mulch and otherwise ensure the downtown green space will be in top shape by spring.
Preparation for the re-sodding was done Wednesday and volunteers laid down new sod today to give it time to take root before the winter.
The park's grass was largely destroyed as St. James Park was filled with tents and displays during the protest. The cost of fixing up the park was estimated at $60,000, but the donors and volunteers reduced the City of Toronto's cost to zero.
Kyle Tobin of LawnSavers led the charge to fix up the park after he heard the extent of the damages and the city's appeal for help.
He helped organize the movement, which saw some 50 landscaping, sod and other greening companies contribute to the efforts.
"This is unprecedented; I had no idea we'd get this much support from professional landscapers," he said.
Trucks continued to bring huge loads of new sod to the park - enough to cover nearly three acres.
"Yesterday, we had bad news and thought we might not have enough (sod) but today, I get the feeling there might even be a surplus," Tobin said.
He added there was also concern that lights might have to be brought in so volunteers could work into the night. Given the number of men and women that showed up to help, however, work was well ahead of schedule early in the day.
Brad Vanderwoude, vice-president of the Sod Growers Association of Ontario, said the new grass will make an impact on the lives of those living and working in the congested downtown area around St. James Park.
"Having a green park with grass produces oxygen and has a cooling effect, and it gets kids and pet owners to be active," he said. "Parks like this are the lungs of the Earth."
Dennis Flanagan of Landscape Ontario, an umbrella group through which some 50 companies got involved in the clean-up, said the response was overwhelming.
He noted the park was in rough shape as of the middle of the week, a far cry from the condition of the green space Thursday morning.
"A lot of the existing grass was trodden down and in wet weather, that turns to mud," he said. "It was too late in the year to apply seed but the sod will make it clean for the winter."
Volunteer Darren Mackie of BP Landscaping and Snow Removal said he and his co-workers were quick to jump at the chance to volunteer when the opportunity presented itself.
He was impressed with the teamwork and cooperation that was making the clean-up go by extremely quickly.
"Yesterday, it looked deserted and there was no grass whatsoever," he said. "They pointed at us and said, 'There's your spot' and now the progress has been really good."
The clean-up was expected to last into the afternoon Thursday. Park-goers should stay off the freshly laid sod until it has had time to take root.