Heart in the Grass: One Man's Quiet Act of Purpose

Mike Herzog started small: a walking path through an overgrown hydro corridor for his wife, Genevieve, who was working front-line during the pandemic. The next day, on impulse, he carved a heart into the grass.

That was five years ago. What began as an expression of love for a healthcare worker has become something larger—a quiet testament to how one person, armed with a mower and intention, can stitch a community together.

Today, Herzog's pathways stretch 2.5 kilometres between The Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre and Alta Vista Road. Beyond the network of trails, he's mowed a massive heart, a peace sign, and a smiley face into the grass. The message is simple: peace, love, and happiness.

For Herzog, supporting the Heart Institute is personal. His grandfather's life was extended there; his father has been a patient for more than 35 years, surviving two open-heart surgeries and receiving a pacemaker. "The last two, three years have been an absolute gift of time," Herzog says, "and we are forever grateful."

His fundraising campaign, called "Cuts 4 Cardiac Care," has already raised over $6,000—money that Herzog emphasizes comes purely from donations. "I have never taken a penny of any of the money to do anything," he says. "My contribution is my time."

Neighbours have offered to pay him. He's always refused. What matters to Herzog is something harder to quantify: the elderly couple he watched walking hand-in-hand through his path shortly after he first carved it, the dog walkers who now have safer ground during tick season, the simple fact that people feel seen in their neighbourhood.

Simon Roth, a neighbour, puts it plainly: "The pathways remind us of community and that people are there, just willing to help out from the deepest part of their heart." In a city that often moves too fast to notice, Herzog's mower is doing the noticing for us.