Matthew Higginson's posts

One of the best vacations I took this summer was going up along the Bruce Trail with my fiancé. The Bruce Peninsula was something we had talked about visiting for ages, so we finally packed up the car and got on the road. Here’s why you should pack up your bags and visit too!

At a regular checkup a couple of weeks ago, my doctor asked how my allergies were doing. “August 15,” he said, “mark it off in your calendar – you’re going to have a bad day.” It’s only recently I’ve started to experience the symptoms of my allergies – puffy eyes, itchy skin and uncooperative sinuses. Maybe you stepped outside last April to breathe in the fresh, blossom-scented air only to be instantly itchy in the eyes and a stuffed up beyond belief? Or was a camping trip in June slightly annoying because your tent was pitched next to a birch tree? Each spring brings signs both good and bad, and the summer months don’t get much better. But at least there’s comfort in knowing that we’re not alone.

The first Edible Tree Tour began outside the Spadina Museum on a sunny September day in 2008. Participants shared freshly picked apples and discovered a new way to look at urban fruit trees with Laura Rainsborough, who had just founded Not Far From The Tree. A year later, the tour moved to Ben Nobleman Park and Cedarvale Ravine, and Susan Poizner, Director of Orchard People shared information on the first community orchard, and how to care for existing fruit trees. Now five years later, the Edible Tree Tour at its heart still carries the same message: the urban forest provides.

Have you seen these videos yet? LEAF produced three informative videos on the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and its devastating effect on our urban forest. I helped put these together with Volunteer & Stewardship Coordinator Victoria and our Marketing Intern Sam. It was a cold Friday in spring, and we ventured throughout the city to get the shots that would help viewers identify ash trees, and see examples of how EAB is affecting these trees.