Jeanne McRight 

Founding President

 

Jeanne is the founder of Blooming Boulevards. A professional visual artist and photographer with an Honors BFA, she taught visual arts for 21 years at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, was a founding Director of Artspace and a Program Advisor for the Ontario College of Art and Design and Sheridan College. Jeanne is a Mississauga Master Gardener, holds a Horticulture Diploma from the University of Guelph, She focuses on biodiversity conservation, specializing in native plant​ propagation, ​habitat ​restoration and naturalized landscaping. She is the recipient of two Awards of Merit and an Environmental Awareness Award from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority. In 2015 she initiated an amendment to Mississauga’s Encroachment By-Law, permitting residents to create boulevard gardens. Gardening is Jeanne’s joy and passion, but more than that, she is a deeply committed advocate for environmentally sustainable horticultural practices.

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Archna Gupta

Treasurer

 

Archna’s occupation has encompassed Finance, Internal Audit and most recently IT as a Manager of Information Security for a Provincial Government entity. As a Chartered Professional Accountant she has served as a volunteer panel member for mentoring students in their presentation skills in the final year of CPA program.

Archna has a deep rooted passion for plants since her early childhood and strongly believes that plants and human beings share a strong relationship where plants are forever giving and we as the humans are the recipients of their life force and beauty. Even as a child she enjoyed the company of plants and felt comforted by their presence. She feels blessed growing up in small towns in India among fruit trees and flowers.

She has found time to garden and rekindle her passion for gardening as her children began to move on with their lives. In last 10 years she has added a number of fruit trees, native plants and berries (some native) to her back yard garden. Her newest learning about native flowers started as she became a member and garden steward of Blooming Boulevards (BB) in 2021. She feels very encouraged as the boulevard garden is flourishing in its second year, even on a main road with constant high speed traffic.

Archna has volunteered with BB in the Seed Collection and Plant Propagation programs. In 2019, Archna established a garden at her workplace with 40 members from the staff. This garden club has helped to build employee engagement as can be seen by the interest shown by staff. The garden has become a place for many to enjoy their lunch on nearby picnic tables. Some teams have their staff meetings at the garden while enjoying the fresh air. This year, one section of the garden was dedicated

to native wildflowers with the aim to attract pollinators; frequent visitors to the garden include bees, butterflies as well as frogs and birds. Archna is hoping to pursue Master Gardner certification in the near future.

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Jacqueline McKernan

Secretary

 

Jacqueline has worked in the not for profit sector for 5 years, and her most current role is Programs Manager at a not for profit providing services to people experiencing homelessness. Recently she led a garden planting day with staff and participants to plant 100 native plants in the front courtyard of the Toronto office. There has been a huge increase in the amount of birds and bees that visit this garden, and the impact on the community has been significant.

Jacqueline has volunteered for the Canadian Red Cross, been an active member of the City of Mississauga’s Garlic Mustard Task Force and has been involved in Blooming Boulevards since 2019, where she was a garden steward. Jacqueline strongly believes that that animals, plants and humans can live together and can support one another in a sustainable way.

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Wayne Cardinalli

Director

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Wayne is a full time ceramics artist.  He has a B.S. in Art Education and an M.F.A. in Ceramics.  He has served on various boards including:  Artspace, The Ontario Crafts Council and is the past president of Fusion, The Ontario Clay and Glass Association. Wayne has taught part time and conducted over 100 workshops and lectures. Though his work has focused on visual art, he is morally drawn to become a positive force in restoring and preserving the environment.

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Sheila Cressman

Director

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Sheila was a native plant neophyte three years ago when she first started her boulevard garden and is in the process of devoting the rest of her property to native plants. She has volunteered with Blooming Boulevards' Seed Saving and Plant Propagation programs, assisted with our annual Plant Sale, and helped several of our planning committees. Sheila has served as a board member for both a women's shelter and a local literacy organization. She works as a practising lawyer.

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Mary Jean Kucerak

Director

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Mary Jean has worked in the non-for-profit sector for over 40 years and is currently the Chief Operating Officer for a national professional association.  She is an avid gardener and over the years she has sought out and included many native species in her own garden.  Mary Jean is a ten-year member of the Mississauga Master Gardeners.  She was the inaugural Chair of the Native Plant Propagation Program (NP3) at the Riverwood Conservancy, and a Past President of the Applewood Garden Club.  Mary Jean is also a founding Director of the Mississauga Garden Festival and continues to serve on the Festival’s Board.

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Murray Moore

Director

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In addition to his work with Blooming Boulevards, Murray has directed his interest in supporting green initiatives through involvement with the Riverwood Conservancy's Native Plant Propagation Program (NP3), where he is a volunteer. He is also a member of Carolinian Canada, the North American Native Plant Society (NANPS), and Seeds of Diversity. Murray has experience as a board member and is currently President of the national CSFFA (Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association). The number of native plants in his and his wife's front and back yards increases every year.

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Pamela Sleightholm

Director

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Pamela has always had interest in food, sustainability and the environment. After working in communications in the non-profit and public sectors, she is now pursuing a degree in Environmental Management at the University of Toronto with a strong interest in habitat creation in urban and suburban environments. Since starting her native plant garden she’s been thrilled to see more and more insects, birds, amphibians and mammals coming each year. She’s excited about designing a garden with pollinators, the ecosystem, and our local food supply in mind. 

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