Starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, plants will be taking over the social distancing circles at Trinity Bellwoods Park as part of an initiative to raise money for CAMH’s COVID-19 mental health resiliency and coping fund. The project is by Chive, a Toronto-based company that designs unique and modern plant pots.
“Plants are a calming force in a changing world and positively impact mental health,” says Todd Newgren, founder of Chive. “Our socially-distanced plant pop-up is a great way to get our plants out into the wild while supporting a worthy cause — those most affected by social isolation. Many of our friends have been heavily affected by depression and anxiety during the pandemic, so we thought this was a great way to lift people’s spirits.”
Residents and plant lovers are encouraged to visit Trinity Bellwoods on Wednesday and sit beside a plant in one of the circles in the park. They can then take the plant home by providing a donation to CAMH — and Chive has committed to matching every donation made up to $3,000.
The potted plants that will be placed in the circles retail for anywhere between $6 for a simple one to $124 for a multiple pot and plant bundle. Newgren says they are encouraging participants to donate the retail value of the plant, but don’t want to hold anyone back from taking one home so it will be pay-what-you-can.
For those who can’t show up to the park but want to participate, additional donations can be made to CAMH at Chive.ca, starting Tues. July 28.
Chive has a workspace at College and Dovercourt, and during the economic shutdown, the team decided to open a shop in front of the workspace.
“All the lumber yards were closed so we designed and built the entire store using 61 sheets of plywood,” says Newgren. “While our new store kept us occupied, we all have numerous friends suffering the side effects of isolation during COVID (like depression, anxiety etc). And because the streets were empty of the usual crowds, the people who need CAMH’s help most were even more visible than before.”
That’s when Newgren and the team decided to create an initiative to raise money for CAMH.
The Trinity Bellwoods activation will take place north of the tennis courts in the social distancing circles and the Chive team is assuming the plants won’t last long and are encouraging people to show up at 8 a.m. when it kicks off. To check out some of the plants that will be available, visit the Chive website.
