Peace Garden Route planned to commemorate the War of 1812 Bi-Centennial

Modeled on the International Peace Garden concept that originated in Canada in 1990, a trail of Peace Gardens is being planned along the historic route where events of the War determined the future of Canada, the United States and the fate of many First Nations and Native American people.


The Art of Peace Garden Route is designed to attract international visitors as well as residents of this historic region to experience and enjoy the natural beauty that a garden provides while commemorating the peace that has existed between Canada and the United States over the past 200 years.

The Peace Gardens will be a combination of new creations and specially designated locations within existing gardens and communities, and will provide artists from various disciplines and community members a space in which to perform and demonstrate their culture and talents which include readings, dance, music, painting, sculpture, reenactments and theatre.

Several Peace Gardens are scheduled to bloom in May of 2010. Additional Peace Gardens will join the route each year up to and throughout the three year celebration of the Bicentennial. Plans are underway to make the Art of Peace Garden Route on both the US and Canadian side to become a permanent garden route. Currently Peace Gardens are planned for Eastern Ontario, Canada, the Binational Niagara Region, and the War of 1812 historic sites in New York State and Ontario, Canada along Lake Ontario.

A cohesive signage and promotional program, along with calendar of events in the various locations, will showcase the trail communities and partners, and ensure distribution of information to local as well as tourist audiences.

The community partners involved in this initiative have committed to the design, creation, planting, maintenance, local promotion and cultural programming of their garden in accordance with the Art of Peace Garden guidelines.

A special steering committee will act as an umbrella group to strategically direct and grow the initiative throughout the region, providing community partners with best practices and instructions as to how to begin their program, will determine guidelines for signage, organize promotion of the program to the travel trade and the media, solicit new partners, sponsors, volunteers and source new information and resources to assist the communities in their garden development. These efforts will be coordinated within the context of the overall Bicentennial of the War of 1812 program now being developed.

Parties interested in obtaining further information regarding this project may contact Paula Savage, President of the International Peace Garden Foundation at paula.savage@ipgf.org