Keep Celebration Park! Community Makes the Case for Keeping Unique Park Installation on Yonge Street

TORONTO, Sept. 13, 2012 /CNW/ - A growing chorus of supporters are making the case to make the natural playground installation on Yonge Street a permanent park for the city.

Designed and built by Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, Celebration Park is a natural reprieve from the city that features towering trees, massive logs and boulders, a wooden fort, seating areas, and bright grasses and flowers. Resting on the east side of Yonge Street, just south of Shuter Street, the park has been a hit with the local community. The park has been open and active from August 18 and will be removed on September 18. The park was built as part of the Celebrate Yonge Festival.

"For the last three weeks, we have seen a 40% increase in visits compared to June and July of this year, and twice as many visits as we had in the same period of 2011," said Nick Cluley of ING DIRECT. By providing a natural setting where people can relax and rest outside, customers feel more inspired to be here and spend time on Yonge Street."

"I designed and built this space to draw attention to the crisis in our culture," said Adam Bienenstock, the Founder and Principal of Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. "Our children and communities have become less and less engaged in the natural world and this has contributed to their growing list of health and social problems. What better way to show the value of connecting to nature then by dropping it down in the most urban setting in Canada - Yonge Street. I would be very pleased to work with the community to figure out how to make Celebration Park a permanent park."

"Getting people outdoors to experience nature is one of the key focuses for CWF. Having a natural environment like Celebration Park right in the downtown core of Toronto reminds us that nature and wildlife are always close by," says Wade Luzney,CEO and Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

SOURCE: CANADIAN WILDLIFE FEDERATION

Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds
c/o Bruce Sudds, Marketing Director, Snap,
416.931.3643
[email protected]

Canadian Wildlife Federation
Pam Logan
613.222.1405