By Ewa Chwojko-Srawley

The 2025 season at Clearwater Farm kicked off in style with a lively Open House on May 24, celebrating local talent, music, dance, and handcrafted goods.

For kids, the big attractions were the ever-popular craft station led by local artist Michelle Richards-Clermont and a lively treasure hunt.

Kids are a big part of life at Clearwater Farm—always welcome, always included. At this event an exciting new project was unveiled, a nature-inspired play-and-learning area called Wild Space.  It is set to open in summer 2026.

Annabel Slaight, Founding Chair of the Ontario Water Centre, explains: “This playscape is dedicated to Colin Dobell, our founding executive director from 2014 until his passing in 2023. In many ways, he helped shape and grow this place into what it is today. By building this playscape, we hope to honour the life work of Colin and remember his lasting impact here.”

Michelle Richards-Clermont
Mark Setter

Wild Space is a collaborative project created with input of Grade 3 students from Lakeside Public School, guided by Heidi Campbell, Senior Design Consultant at Evergreen, and landscape designer Mark Setter.

Campbell says, “Working with children was central to our project. They brought imagination, creativity, and real thoughtfulness. They didn’t just tell us what they wanted for themselves but considered the surroundings too: the birds, plants, trees, and animals. Wild Space is designed to spark imagination, curiosity, and connection with nature. A space like this plays a big role in supporting mental health.”

Setter adds, “Kids have the best ideas about how they want to play in nature. They built models, shared their vision, and we listened—then took it even further, inspired by their creativity. Their input shaped every part of the design. It will be fully accessible so everyone can enjoy it.”

Clearwater Farm’s popular food basket program is back—with a fresh twist. Now available through Shopify, the experience is more personalized. Each basket will come with a digital avatar of a farmer who explains what’s inside and offers tips on how to use the fresh, local ingredients.

“While the food basket program is important,” says Slaight, “Clearwater is really about connection. We focus on people who come here and connect with this place, those who buy our produce, take a tour, and join our events.”

You can buy locally sourced products every Friday from 12pm – 6pm, and every Saturday from 9am – 1pm. For more information visit: clearwaterfarm.ca

Mike Anderson
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