Community Gardens

Location: Pinafore Park, 95 Elm St, St Thomas, ON N5R 1H7

Memory Garden sits at the front entrance of Pinafore Park, offering a place where you can recognize and remember loved ones, friends and family with a brass leaf plaque on one of the park's monumental trees.

Details: each leaf includes 3 lines of text, approximately 50 characters total (line 1: 15 characters, line 2: 20 characters, line 3: 15 characters).

Cost: a leaf costs $350, including engraving and installation. We do not currently offer a tax receipt for this purchase.

Installation timing: to meet adhesive specifications, we do not install leaves between November and May. Once we install your leaf, we will contact you by email.

Download the Memory Leaf Application Form

Location: Moore Street and Centre Street, St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 1C7

Veterans Memorial Garden was created by the War Memorial Site Committee as part of Canada's 150th anniversary celebrations, with the full support of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 41 and the City of St. Thomas, which owns the completed project.

Citizens of St. Thomas and Elgin County funded the garden to honour over 10,000 local men and women who served, and over 1,000 who gave their lives in the defence of freedom. The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, officially dedicated the garden on October 28, 2017.

The garden honours Canadians who served in the War of 1812, the 1837 Rebellion, the 1866 to 1870 Fenian Raids, the 1869 to 1870 Red River Rebellion, the 1885 North West Rebellion, the 1899 to 1902 Boer War, both World Wars, the Korean War, numerous peacekeeping missions, and the war in Afghanistan.

What you'll find:

• the St. Thomas Cenotaph, moved to the garden from its original site on Talbot Street
• the Elgin County First World War Memorial, created by J.G. Tickell and Sons Bronze Founders in Toronto in 1922. It originally stood outside the old hospital on Pearl Street, later moved to St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital, and has since been refurbished and relocated to the garden
• the Afghanistan Memorial, a bronze statue created for the garden by Sudbury-based sculptor Tyler Fauvelle. The statue is positioned so the soldier's line of sight connects with both the Great War Memorial and the Cenotaph
• maple leaves pressed into the pavement throughout the garden
• 3 Vimy Oaks, grown from acorns sent home from Vimy Ridge by Lieutenant Leslie H. Miller

A stone walkway and gardens create a peaceful setting for the memorials, with benches for visitors to rest and reflect.

First Avenue Community Garden has operated since 2011, part of our mission to give residents a safe, welcoming and low-cost space to grow organic food and flowers together as a community.

The garden season typically runs from May to October, with access available at your convenience.

We welcome donations of garden-related items, such as gently used tools, hoses, planters, wood, trellises, sheds, greenhouses, soil, compost, plants, flowers, bulbs and seeds.

Kains Street Community Garden has operated since 2011, alongside First Avenue Community Garden. Together, the 2 sites offer over 35 individual plots, 1 accessible raised bed, and 3 family plots, along with space for youth-focused outreach programs.

The garden season typically runs from May to October, with access available at your convenience.

We welcome donations of garden-related items, such as gently used tools, hoses, planters, wood, trellises, sheds, greenhouses, soil, compost, plants, flowers, bulbs and seeds.