Last month, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the 2014 Latornell Conservation Symposium. This was my first time attending the Symposium – I was the lucky recipient of a three-day Latornell Conservation Grant, which made it possible for me to make the trip. While it would be difficult to pinpoint what aspects of the conference inspired me the most, I’m happy to share some highlights from my visit.
On Tuesday, I was excited to attend a session entitled “Driving Behaviour Change.” It was great to hear Vicki Puterbough discuss York Region’s innovative public engagement approach. Their “Water Is” campaign was very interesting. They asked residents to tell them in their own words why they felt water was important, and to send in their own photos for use in the campaign to demonstrate why they care about this vital resource.
In the afternoon, I went to a session that focused on links between the urban forest and community health. We heard from Barb Davies of York Region and Lionel Normand of Toronto and Region Conservation as they discussed how to communicate the benefits of the Region’s trees to the public in ways that they will not only understand, but also respond to. We also heard from Janet Wong of Peel Region who told us about an innovative new tool being developed by the Peel Region Urban Forest Working Group that will identify areas in need of new trees based on a variety of environmental, economic and social criteria.
Wednesday included a session on “Innovative Public Engagement.” Krystal Hewitt of Ducks Unlimited Canada shared stories from her successful education program that engages high school students by connecting them with a wetland in their own community. They are able to design their own stewardship projects for the wetland and lead mentoring workshops for younger students. Some participants have even gone to Queen’s Park to share their experiences and passion with elected officials!
Thursday was another full day of learning! I sat in on a session that focused on preparing for “the next Emerald Ash Borer” – the hemlock wooly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). Kathleen Ryan of Silv-Econ Ltd. and Alex Karney of Urban Forest Associates Inc. were extremely knowledgeable on the topic and had great suggestions about how to stand up to this next invader through collaboration.
David Miller (President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada and Toronto’s former mayor) gave the keynote speech on Thursday. He talked about how cities are leading the way with environmental initiatives and policies and how sustainable growth in the GTA can help us to conserve natural areas in other parts of the province by protecting them from the effects of sprawl.
I came away with so many exciting ideas to inform my work at LEAF. It was great to think about the work we do here at our organization in the context of the bigger conservation picture and to connect with others working on similar issues across the province. I had a fantastic time at the Symposium and look forward to attending again in the future!
Melissa Williams is LEAF's Residential Planting Programs Manager.