January 25, 2022
Sarah Halonen
Tags: Volunteers
A new year brings new volunteer opportunities to steward, connect with and learn about the urban forest. Our volunteers play a critical role in supporting our community programs and helping us improve the urban forest. As a result, we strive to ensure that every volunteer that participates with LEAF – no matter the role – has a meaningful, fulfilling and fun experience! To highlight some of our upcoming volunteer opportunities, we chatted with three LEAF volunteers to get a first-hand account of their adventures.
January 12, 2022
Meandra Provencal
Tags:
What better way to ring in the New Year than to celebrate some of our favourite native trees? LEAF offers over 50 native trees and shrubs through our Backyard Tree Planting Program, which can be a lot to choose from! Learn more about four standout species and the superstars from our Planting Team who help get them in the ground.
January 11, 2022
Brenna Anstett
The white pine (Pinus strobus), also known as the eastern white pine or northern white pine, is considered the tallest eastern conifer and one of the most valuable trees in northeastern North America. With its iconic, windswept form, unique ecological significance and highly desirable wood, it’s no surprise the white pine holds outstanding value.
January 09, 2022
Sarah Halonen
Tags:
Is the cold and dark of winter getting you down? While we can’t change the weather or amount of daylight, there are ways we can boost our mood and energy levels. Sarah, our Stewardship Coordinator, shares some easy, accessible and therapeutic nature-based activities to help you beat those winter blues.
December 14, 2021
Jon Curtis
Tags:
Tree identification is a fun activity you can practice year-round! While it can be tough to spot some of Ontario’s trees and shrubs once their final leaves have dropped, winter presents a great opportunity to learn about other features! Practice always helps, so get out this season and flex your tree identification skills with these fun tips.
November 30, 2021
Guest Blogger
Tags:
This fall, LEAF grew the urban forest in Durham Region by planting over 750 native trees and shrubs on public land. We partnered with the Town of Pickering to complete our first naturalization planting project in Pickering’s Pine Creek. Our Stewardship Assistant, Suzie, reflects on her planting experience.
November 30, 2021
Meandra Provencal
Tags:
A new homeowner passionate about environmental sustainability, Rema is working to mitigate the climate crisis right from her backyard in Ajax. Determined to turn a once treeless backyard into something beautiful and sustainable, this Urban Forest Champion is excited to watch her newly planted native trees grow, as her children do, and provide benefits locally and globally.
November 16, 2021
Guest Blogger
Tags: Tree planting
This fall, LEAF helped grow the urban forest in Durham Region by planting over 750 native trees and shrubs on public land. We partnered with the City of Oshawa to complete our first naturalization planting project in Oshawa’s Central Park. Our Stewardship and Education Intern, Maiesha, reflects on their planting experience
November 16, 2021
Guest Blogger
Tags: Learning Gardens
Garden Stewards are LEAF volunteers who help maintain our six Urban Forest Demonstration Gardens across the City of Toronto. Every year, LEAF organizes various skill-building workshops for these volunteers on topics related to native plants and sustainable gardening techniques. With the winter season fast approaching, it was the perfect time for a pruning workshop, where the stewards could try their hand at this new skill.
November 15, 2021
Guest Blogger
As a recent forest conservation graduate, I was looking for new ways to get involved in the urban forest. Luckily, I found the Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFL) program just in time to meet the application deadline! Let me tell you a bit about my experience.