Kathryn always had a desire to grow a career in the environmental field. However, with her only work experience being in retail, she knew that volunteering with an environmental organization would bridge the gap to finding a fulfilling position. Driven to expand her skill set, learn more about the environmental field and make connections with other nature-lovers, she decided to apply and was accepted into the Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFL) Program in 2021.
Nestled neatly between her spring and fall school semester, the YUFL program provided Kathryn with the opportunity to explore the field of urban forestry. Over the course of four months, Kathryn was introduced to a variety of new topics and developed new skills each week. These included, but were not limited to, tree identification, tree inventory, community engagement and virtual presentation skills. A highlight of the program was learning directly from professionals in the sector and exploring potential career paths within urban forestry.
After graduating from the program, Kathryn leveraged her experience and skills from the YUFL program and dove headfirst into her new career journey. She became a seasonal gardener for Evergreen before transitioning to an outdoor educator with the organization. She is currently working as a Education Interpreter for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, sharing her passion and knowledge about protecting and enhancing urban green spaces with children and community groups across Toronto!
Wrapping up the last semester of her Environmental Technology Program at Seneca College, Kathryn is excited to continue her career as an outdoor educator and had the following tips to share with other young professionals:
“Volunteering is definitely worth the time and energy you put into it. You’ll never know what you’ll end up learning and who you will meet. Also, get your [drivers] license ASAP – you will need it in this [environmental] field.”
Interested in becoming a Young Urban Forest Leader? We are accepting applications for the 2023 program! To learn more, join our upcoming Info Session on Tuesday, March 7th, 2023.
Lam Tran is the Education Coordinator at LEAF.
This blog is part of a series highlighting YUFL alumni. This blog was written by Lam Tran based on survey responses from YUFL alumni about their journeys after graduating from the program. Read other blogs on the Young Urban Forest Leaders program.
The Young Urban Forest Leaders Program is funded in part by a City of Toronto Urban Forestry Grant and the Canadian Tree Fund.