I am doing my master’s in forest conservation at the University of Toronto and my focus is urban forestry. Why this focus you may ask... Approximately 80% of Canadians live in urban communities and trees are an important part of our communities. Have you ever found yourself standing in a residential area without any trees or green space in sight?
I have, and it is eerie! It gives you the feeling that something is very, very wrong. There is plenty of research to back this up. As humans, we benefit significantly and in multiple ways from integrating trees and green space into our urban environments. Making our communities resilient and healthy is my passion and one of the best ways to do this is to live amongst urban trees.
And come on, who wouldn’t want to work with trees. They are just so cool! If you’re getting the sneaking suspicion that I’m not city born and bred, you’re right. I’ll be honest – my connection to forests stems from my childhood. I was fortunate to have grown up on the edge of Awenda Provincial Park, located on Georgian Bay. A forest provides a child with a lot of exciting wonders and mysteries to ponder!
I’ve been in Toronto since 1997 though, so the city is where I call home and the trees here are our connection to nature. Our urban parks are precious and often anchor a neighbourhood. Such is the case with Colonel Sam Smith Park in my south Etobicoke neighbourhood.
But urban parks and city street trees are only a portion of the urban tree canopy. Backyard trees are an incredibly important part of the urban canopy and in many municipalities it is backyard trees that make up more than 50% of the tree canopy.
My first connection with LEAF was back in 2007 when I arranged to get a backyard tree planted through the LEAF program. My partner and I had moved to a home with a treeless backyard and a tree was desperately needed. It seems that I require living within 20 feet of a tree in order to function. LEAF made a very good impression upon me and I never hesitate to refer people to their programs.
For the past 10 years I’ve been working in the areas of environment, stakeholder engagement, project management, local government and municipal infrastructure. I was looking for meaningful volunteer work where I could use my skills and here I found the perfect match with volunteering on the LEAF board. I have to say that the LEAF staff and my fellow board members and LEAF volunteers are amazing and so much fun to work with! LEAF is an organization that takes pride in its work and it is rewarding to see the positive impacts our programs have in communities. It is a pleasure to support such a wonderful organization!
Jennifer Dillon is a Program and Policy Advisor with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. She is also a member of LEAF’s Board of Directors.