Claire Ellenwood

Claire got her degree in Fine Arts at York University, studied Landscape Design at Ryerson, and Ecosystem Restoration at Niagara College.  Beginning with a landscape design business in 2003 under her own name that became Ontario Flora in 2010, she has learned to straddle urban landscape design and the natural environment focused realms of stewardship, bio-monitoring and native plant restoration.

Since 2003 Claire has divided her time between business owner and employee, working always as a native plant landscape designer and ecosystem restoration project manager, including with several well respected organizations that have given her great opportunities to work with native plants.

Some of this great work as an employee has been:

• As Stewardship Project Manager at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, leading volunteers in natural environment habitat restoration, managing over 15000 square feet of native plant gardens, piloting their native plant retail nursery, managing stewardship groups on ecosystem restoration projects for waterfront sites in Toronto and in the 40 acre Brick Works parkland restoration in Toronto. Some other projects were creating the preliminary design for the Evergreen Brick Works Green Roof, and coordinating a series of workshops related to stewardship, horticulture and nature in general (with many GTA partners).
• Working for The Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga, coordinating among other projects their amazing Native Plant Propagation Program and stewarding the one hundred and fifty acre site with volunteers.
• Working for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, designing a series of eight native plant landscapes to show how adaptable and contemporary native plants can be, in partnership with the Town of Richmond Hill, and LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests).

Some great work done in partnership with organizations, municipalities and with private clients:

• Ontario Flora’s recent school projects include consulting to create school landscape designs, as well as teaching about native plants, and leading plantings with students at schools such as Father John Redmond Catholic School, and Beverley Glen Elementary School.
• One of Ontario Flora’s recent charitable projects includes providing plants, and ecosystem restoration consulting to Clearwater Farm, a charitable farm that is the home of Ontario Water Centre. Another is providing consulting, landscape design with native plants, and native plant based education coordination for under-served communities in partnership with Park People of Toronto, ON.
• Some work with municipalities include working with the GTA Parks Department, and Heritage Toronto on the preliminary garden planning for the Earl Bales Park– The garden surrounding the oldest log cabin in Toronto, John Bales House heritage house. Another project with Park People, the City of Toronto and Driftwood Community Centre was to create a landscape plan/ plant list for the community centre site, as well as provide on site event help for the planting day, and a presentation on native plants.

For a further list of Community Groups, NGO’s and Schools we have worked with, check out our ‘Community Greening’ Page.