Students of St. Anthony Catholic School Rip Up Pavement to Plant Garden

The students of St. Anthony Catholic School are teaming up with local residents and Ecology Ottawa to replace their pavement-covered schoolyard with flower-filled gardens.

Mayor Jim Watson, City Councillor Catherine McKenney and Ottawa-Centre candidates Paul Dewar (NDP) and Catherine McKenna (Liberal) will help kick-off the day of planting beginning at 10am. ** Who: ** Ecology Ottawa, Green Communities Canada, St. Anthony Catholic School ** Where ** : St. Anthony Catholic School, 391 Booth Street, Ottawa ** When ** : 15 September 2015, 10am-2pm ** What: ** Each of the school’s 150 students will plant a flower, tree or shrub in the space where volunteers have removed asphalt earlier this summer.

Over the past three years, Depave Paradise participants have removed over 1,000 m

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of asphalt at schools, churches and public lands.

The gardens and permeable pavement installed in place of the asphalt soak up water into the ground, filtering it through soil and plants, avoiding runoff and pollution and protecting local waterbodies. St. Anthony’s schoolyard will become softer and safer for its students.

This one-day event is possible thanks to a grant from the RBC Blue Water Fund, in partnership with Green Communities Canada.