Young Urban Forest Leaders 2026: A Summer in Pictures

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this year’s Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFL) Program gave us plenty worth sharing. Over four months, participants learned to identify trees, planted trees with the City of Toronto, learned from Indigenous teachers, connected with environmental professionals and led public tree tours of their own. Here are some of our favourite moments from a fun and hands-on season.

Learning and Working in the Urban Forest

Every YUFL season begins with the Tree Tenders Training Course – 15 hours of arboriculture training led by industry professionals. Through virtual classes and in-person sessions at Downsview Park, 2026 participants learned to identify trees by their bark and leaves, spot signs of stress and care for young saplings. A week after the course wrapped, the cohort joined the City of Toronto and community members at Westlake Park for a tree planting. The day opened with an Anishinaabe ceremony led by Grandmother Vivian Recollet, grounding the work in respect for the land. That respect carried through the rest of the program. Throughout the season, guest facilitators wove Indigenous and Western perspectives into land-based learning, reflecting how YUFL is evolving through a Two-Eyed Seeing lens – a guiding principle that holds Indigenous ways of knowing and Western science side by side, drawing on both for a more complete understanding of the world.

A small group stands on a sunny lawn beneath a large tree with bright green leaves. Two people, one in a green LEAF volunteer T-shirt, reach up to point at its branches while others holding notebooks look on. — During the final in-person Tree Tenders session at Downsview Park, participants take their learning outdoors and put their new tree identification skills to the test, examining leaves and branching patterns up close. © 2026 Njoki Muriithi / LEAF

A smiling young woman in a teal cap, sunglasses and work gloves holds a shovel on a grassy slope. Around her, dozens of people of all ages dig and plant small trees, with a yellow City of Toronto banner and a park field behind them. — A YUFL participant pauses mid-dig during the City of Toronto’s community tree planting at Westlake Park on June 6, where youth, families and neighbours worked side by side to grow the urban forest. © 2026 Brian Millward / LEAF

A group of about 15 young people stands in a loose circle on a forest path surrounded by tall trees and leafy undergrowth. A facilitator in a tan top with long braids gestures as she speaks while participants listen. — In a quiet corner of High Park, Carolynne Crawley, co-founder of Turtle Protectors, guides the 2026 cohort through Msit No’kmaq: All My Relations, a land-based workshop that invites participants to see the plants, trees and waters around them as relatives. © 2026 Natasha Jovanovic / LEAF

Learning from Indigenous Teachers

About 30 people pose for a group photo in front of a large brick wall with graffiti and leafy shrubs, some standing and others crouching in front, on a warm summer evening. — The YUFL 2026 cohort and LEAF staff gather at the Don Valley Brick Works for a June workshop with Benjamin Krawec, an ISA-certified arborist and former wildland firefighter who runs Branch Out Tree Care. © 2026 Nishi Trivedi / LEAF

Building Community and Careers

YUFL is as much about people as it is about trees. Ahead of LEAF’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, current YUFL participants and alumni came together for an evening of connection and relationship-building to reflect on the program’s continued growth. Members of LEAF’s Indigenous Advisory Circle joined, including Elder Blu Waters, who shared a teaching and listened as participants reflected on how the program has strengthened their connection to nature. Later in the season, the Career Connections Panel brought participants together with industry professionals, who shared honest stories about their own paths and offered practical advice on getting started in the environmental sector.

About 40 smiling people pose together in a bright room with string lights and a floral backdrop. Many hold hand-made signs with tree puns, such as “Hot Pine Bling,” “Yew Are Unfir-gettable,” “Good Things Come in Trees” and “You’re My Best Bud!” — Current participants and alumni of LEAF’s Young Urban Forest Leaders and Young Ravine Leaders programs show off their best tree puns at a youth gathering before LEAF’s 30th Anniversary Celebration in July. They were joined by Elder Blu Waters of our Indigenous Advisory Circle. © 2026 Brenna Anstett / LEAF

A group of young people and two guest panellists smile together for an indoor group photo after a career panel. — The 2026 YUFL cohort gathers with panellists Janet McKay, Executive Director of LEAF, and Tooba Shakeel, Environmental Planner with the City of Brampton, after the Career Connections Panel. © 2026 Janet McKay / LEAF

YUFL-led Tree Tours

For their final project, participants worked in teams with support from LEAF staff to research local tree species, build their own presentations and lead public tours at Downsview and Maidavale Parks. For many, this was their first time leading a group outdoors, and we watched nerves turn into confidence as they shared what they had learned with family, friends and neighbours — a highlight of the program every year!

A young woman in a bright green LEAF T-shirt laughs with her arms outstretched as she presents the long, feathery leaves of a tree, framed by the dark purple leaves of another. — A YUFL participant brings big energy to her stop on the tree tour at Downsview Park, introducing tour-goers to the trees she spent the summer getting to know. © 2026 Marina Cuznetov / LEAF

Two young tour leaders in bright green LEAF T-shirts stand beneath a large shade tree on a residential street, each holding up a leaf to show a group of community members gathered in front of them. — Two YUFL tour leaders hold up leaf samples at Maidavale Park in Scarborough to show community members how to identify trees in their neighbourhood. © 2026 Karl Fernandes / LEAF

As we wrap up the 11th year of the YUFL program, we want to extend a huge Thank You to the 2026 YUFL cohort for a season full of curiosity, care and community, and to the environmental professionals who shared their time and knowledge with us. We’re also grateful to the City of Toronto for their longstanding support of YUFL, which helps keep the program free for Toronto youth.

Interested in joining the next generation of urban forest leaders? Sign up through our Interest Form to be the first to know when applications open for the 2027 cohort. You can learn more on the Young Urban Forest Leaders Program page.

Natasha Jovanovic is the Senior Education Coordinator at LEAF.

Check out some of our other blogs for more information on the YUFL program.

The program is funded in part by the City of Toronto’s Urban Forestry Grants and Incentives Program and the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Seed Grant.

Blog Tags:

Young Urban Forest Leaders