It is always an emotional, somewhat eerie experience for Kevin Morrison, the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s vice chair and trustee, when he drives past St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in the city's downtown.

On the site of the historic school, the closest Catholic school to nearby Regent Park, sits a prominent ancient burial ground for many of Toronto’s early Irish community. 

“ I am very much connected to that part of my history and my Irish heritage, and for me, I feel that I can sometimes hear those kids. Those are kids who should never have been there but have all lived long, happy, healthy lives back in Ireland, but that's not what their fate had; that was not part of God's plan for them,” he said. 

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Those haunting feelings have lingered within the Belfast, Northern Ireland, native for the better part of his more than 20 years in Toronto. The reality is that in the summer of 1847, nearly 38,000 immigrants passed through the city of only 20,000 at the time, fleeing Ireland’s Great Famine.  

By the end of that year, more than 1,100 had died of typhus, many in the fever sheds (temporary structures for diseased individuals) that were constructed by the Toronto Board of Health at the northwest corner of King and John Streets. Many were buried beside St. Paul Church (now Basilica), with the nearby school’s play area then being built on the site of mass graves due to the lack of resources and the ongoing rapid influx of immigrants. 

Now, thanks to extensive commitments over the past three years from the TCDSB, the St. Paul School community and members of the school’s  parent council, St. Paul received a $100,000 Playground Revitalization Grant, with all funds going toward supporting the installation of new, inclusive play structures constructed with the preservation of the site’s historic significance in mind. 

A relieved, albeit emotional, Morrison saw the new playground at its grand opening June 19. He told The Catholic Register it was a moment where he looked at the space, finally with a sense of peace, consolation and solace. 

“ The moment that I had on Thursday was the moment that I knew was going to come, and it was listening to the children on that play structure. Listening to the laughter, joy and the excitement, kids challenging themselves on monkey bars or sliding down the slides, that is this special moment,” he said. 

“What that did is take what is otherwise a sombre and sad memory and revitalizes it, turning it into everything that is good and beautiful, which is children playing. That is what this play structure is for.”

The transformative investment marks the end of a nearly 200-year-old reality in which St. Paul School has lacked a modern play area, often due to challenges in local fundraising capacity. It was one of the few remaining TCDSB schools without an updated playground infrastructure, limiting student access to vital play-based learning opportunities. 

Upon being elected in 2022, and having long felt the embrace of the St. Paul community as a safe haven, Morrison got to work on figuring out how to make the project and subsequent grant possible, especially in one of Toronto’s more socioeconomically challenged areas.

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Despite representing the heart and soul of the multicultural city, having supported multiple immigrant cultures such as the Italian and Irish over the years, St. Paul’s location has never made revitalization easy. 

“ Some communities will raise money to try and pay for these things, but this is not a community that can do that, so putting a sizable grant towards it was always a priority, but there was a lot that needed to be done,” he said. 

The board was able to find a vendor to build the structure, now fully stabilized underneath. In preserving the burial site, the project ensured no disturbance beyond the existing asphalt layer while still allowing for it to  function as a normal play structure with all of the same safety regulations. 

To Alyson Sobol, principal of St. Paul, it’s more than a play structure, it’s a visual reminder of community and of the resiliency of Regent Park’s population.

“ It really fosters a sense of community, as silly as it sounds. It provides such rich opportunities for these kids to learn about themselves, their friends, how to work together and how to take healthy risks,” she said. 

She shared that students were able to draw different elements that they wanted to see included in the new structure, and while impossible to grant every wish, the school was able to make monkey bars, three different slides and even a sensory area for younger children possible. 

A deliberate process from staff, not only to ensure the needs of the students were being met, but also to show them that their voices are being heard, no matter what neighbourhood they belong to. 

“ If you’re a kid and you know people are investing in and you can go out on that schoolyard and see, feel, use and play with that investment, that brings so much pride to you and your school. These kids step out onto that playground knowing it’s for them and knowing that people care,” Sobol said. 

Morrison praised the builders, school staff, Sobol and the various parent council members and overall  community who bought in over the past three years to make the initiative come to life. 

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“ Oftentimes in communities like this, we don't have a lot of parental involvement because people work two, sometimes three jobs, and so for these parents to sacrifice so much to be a part of building this Catholic community is the most important thing,” he said. 

“ Everybody went and did their part, and once we got a plan in place, I just went and found the money.”