Students, faculty and staff are invited to visit the newly revitalized Butterfield Park on Wednesday, November 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to mark the completion of the project. The official opening is slated for next spring.
The project was made possible due to the generous support of donors, who contributed more than $1.7 million to the park’s revitalization fundraising campaign.
Early contributions from George and Martha Butterfield and David Binet propelled the campaign forward to reimagine the park as a dynamic hub of creativity, innovation and community engagement. The campaign was concluded by Chancellor Jaime Watt and Paul Ferguson’s generous gift.
PFS Studio, the same visionary landscape architecture firm that redesigned Grange Park, led the design process in collaboration with Indigenous consultants, Two Row Architect. Feedback from the OCAD U community and neighbours was also part of the design process. The park’s design embodies Indigenous design principles and showcases the large-scale mural, pi'tawita'iek: we go up river, by Mi’kmaq visual artist Jordan Bennett.
Butterfield Park is a new a central gathering place for students, faculty, staff, neighbours – a place where community collaborations and creativity can thrive. With the integration of green space, new trees, community gardens and year-round planting, the park is a key piece of the city’s green infrastructure system, helping to reduce environmental impact and combat climate change in an urban area.
Butterfield Park includes a dedicated space for public art installations, an expanded amphitheatre, a ceremonial fire circle and thoughtfully selected native plants and trees throughout the gardens.
At the official park opening next spring, OCAD U will be recognizing the support of its donors:
- George and Martha Butterfield
- David Binet
- Jaime Watt and Paul Ferguson
- Anonymous
- TD Bank Group
- DH Gales Family Charitable Foundation
- The Catherine & Maxwell Meighen Foundation
