Rituals of Memory: Love, Loss, and Belonging at the Toronto Botanical Garden

This walk explores how public gardens become emotional landscapes shaped by love,
memory, and everyday acts of care. Moving through the Toronto Botanical Garden and
Edwards Gardens, participants will observe how formal features like memorial benches
and wedding spaces intersect with informal practices such as inscriptions, photography,
and personal rituals. .
Drawing on ethnographic research, this walk invites participants to reflect on how people
leave traces of themselves in public space and how these spaces quietly hold stories of
connection, loss, and belonging. Together, we will consider how urban green spaces
function not just ecologically, but emotionally and culturally within the city.