I'm at the final day of the Planet in Focus Film Festival. Poetry - visual, verbal and written - draws me in, occupying two of my five senses. Popcorn takes the rest. Quebec filmmaker Réal Junior Leblanc’s short finishes and I haven’t taken a single note. From the first frame his work, drawing on indigenous culture, highlights an intense relationship with the natural world.
It’s a long standing tradition in Canada to do all of our planting in the spring after the May long weekend. This is when the garden centres open their doors and people flock outside to dig in the dirt and enjoy the warm weather. Canadian winters have a history of being particularly harsh (we love our snow, eh?), which is why some people believe fall is a bad time to plant. But in reality, it’s perfect for our trees and shrubs!
It is a big day for your tree. All of the hard working leaves, branches and needles that make our neighbourhoods, parks, and cities complete can tell us a little more about themselves. And that’s because today we, along with Ryerson University launched the Ontario Residential Tree Benefits Estimator.
We've kicked off another spring planting season. At LEAF the entire staff gets an opportunity to go out in the field for at least one day. This means our marketing team takes time away from setting up interviews and tweaking websites to plant trees. I love the concept and needless to say it’s is a welcomed break from the glow of my computer screen. But even more than that, it’s a refreshing experience each time it rolls around.
Buying a new home this summer was really exciting. My partner and I got a very cute, detached bungalow with a simple backyard, which my husband calls our “bowling alley” because of its shape. But when we bought the house back in July, the sun was intense and it didn’t rain for the whole month. Not only was the house hot but you couldn't be in the yard for more than 10 minutes without feeling like you were being cooked. I knew I needed to do something, so I started thinking about solutions.
