Morningside Park, Toronto ON

In 2021, SpruceLab advised and supported 4 Directions of Conservation and Toronto Region Conservation Authority on three Indigenous engagement design workshops (involving Williams Treaties First Nations) for the location and conceptual design ideas for Indigenous placekeeping along trails in Morningside Park, Toronto. These virtual and interactive workshops explored ideas about how park visitors should learn about the Mississauga Peoples (including oral histories), and recommendations on how and where this information should be displayed. Representatives from these First Nations attended all workshops, which followed cultural protocols. SpruceLab advised and worked closely with the project team to plan, organize and host the workshops, and co-wrote the summary report.

Following the engagement phase of this project, SpruceLab conducted research on trails best practices and developed conceptual designs for five proposed ‘stations’ developed through the engagement. Each of the stations is unique and offers respectful places for Indigenous Peoples for gathering and ceremony, as well as opportunities for improving the Indigenous awareness of visitors. Presentations were made to TRCA and the City of Toronto about the project during the design development phases, to obtain peer review and feedback to improve the designs and meet their operational needs and conservation requirements. More recently, the firm was retained by Toronto Region Conservation Authority to advise on the tender process for the first of the stations to be constructed (in progress), and to provide contract administration services throughout this work.