Michener Gitigan

Project partners: University Health Network (UHN) Indigenous Health Program and Michener Institute of Education at UHN

Location: McCaul and Elm Street, Toronto, Ontario

Timeline:  Spring 2021: consultation | June 2021: garden installation | June to October: maintenance

Goal: Create a healing space to grow Indigenous medicines and an educational garden where community engagement and teaching can take place. Transform the approach of growing annuals to native perennial plants instead

Before and after

Our work at Michener:

We helped the team at Michener to review the garden design created by their Indigenous consultant Kateri Gauthier, and narrow down the list of medicines to those most suitable for thriving in a tough, downtown space. We sourced all the plants and coordinated with their staff team to build the garden together. Miinikaan staff maintained the garden throughout the summer, taught staff how to collect seeds and harvest medicines, and assisted with watering during heatwaves.

Ultimately, this space will be very valuable for teaching and community engagement. It will provide a place where Indigenous people who get health services at UHN can access traditional medicines. In its first year, the sweetgrass has already been harvested and much appreciated by many folks, including cancer care patients in the Indigenous Health Program. The Indigenous gitigan (garden) at Michener is also really important for boosting the visibility of Indigenous culture and Indigenous presence in the urban core of downtown Toronto. 

We hope this small but meaningful space not only transforms the feeling of this downtown street corner, but also becomes an example and source of inspiration for other healthcare and hospital facilities. 

Miinikaan's role: Garden design and planting plan consultation, garden installation and maintenance.

Collaborators: Indigenous Healing Program at UHN supported the project. Kateri Gauthier, Indigenous Garden Consultant, created the garden design and a plant database. Michener staff assisted in the planting.

Gallery: planting the garden

Work with Us

Our speciality is Indigenous garden consultation, design and installation. In creating our gardens, we are revitalizing traditional Indigenous AgroEcology and Indigenous ceremony. We’re experts in growing food, container gardens and rooftop gardens, and we love transforming public spaces.
Get in touch to hire us for your project!