At the end of 2012 I closed my freelance translation business and left my home of six years in Toronto where I had planted a white oak (Quercus alba) on the front lawn to replace the old, ailing Norway maple (Acer platanoides). In January 2013, I flew to Thailand to volunteer with a rainforest conservation group called Association for Protection of the Environment (APE). The experience was incredible in so many ways, but the most profound effect it had on me was convincing me to pursue a career centred on my life-long passion -- trees and forests.
After six months in Thailand, I returned to Ottawa where I spent the summer and fall planting, pruning and maintaining my mother's very large garden. This was to ground me, so to speak. I decided to apply to the University of Toronto's Masters in Forest Conservation program for fall 2014. With luck, I will soon be going back to study in the MFC’s intensive, 16-month program and hope to finally be working in the field of forest conservation!
Beyond planting a native white oak on my former front lawn, encouraging my then-neighbours to do the same and informally talking to people about the Emerald Ash Borer (especially when I see an ash tree growing in their front yard), my stewardship efforts have been limited in Toronto over the past year because of my travels. But with spring just around the corner (of course it is!), I am going to start looking at what I can do to transform the ghastly front yard of the house that I now share with two housemates.
Our street is fairly devoid of trees and our landlord inherited a small front yard that is completely paved with interlocking brick. I hope to get our landlord to remove the pavement, restore the soil underneath and let us plant a tree of appropriate size and species! I plan to use my Tree Tender's knowledge -- and a lot of preliminary research -- to convince him that this is the best thing for the house!
Would you like to become a Tree Tender? We have spring courses coming up in May and June!
Chang Norman Liu is a freelance translator, poet, member of the Toronto Thai Dance Troupe, year-round cyclist, gardener and tree defender. He is planning a return to university in the fall to do a Master’s in Forest Conservation at the University of Toronto and further his dream of transitioning to a field of work that has long called to him.
The Tree Tenders Volunteer Training Program is supported by Ontario Power Generation's Biodiversity Program and York Region