February 10, 2014 by Robyn Stewart

What’s the Outreach Team, you ask? Last year, LEAF assembled a new group of dedicated volunteers that represent LEAF at community events, such as Community Environment Days, festivals, farmers' markets and public talks. While you may not see these volunteers out planting or mulching (though some of them do that too!), they are critical in helping spread the word about what’s going on in the urban forest!

 

In 2013, LEAF’s Outreach Team attended 59 events across Toronto and York Region, and reached 3,184 people. Engaging people at events is the first step to getting them involved in tree tours, tree planting and caring for the urban forest!

 

Polish Festival

Jane spreading the word about EAB at the Roncesvalles Polish Festival.

 

Some of the cool events that the Outreach Team attended last year were The Green Living Show, Seedy Saturdays, the Spring Bird Festival at Colonel Sam Smith Park, York Region’s Spring Forest Fest, Forsythia Festival and the Homegrown National Park Crawl. At these events and many others, our team connected people with the urban forest alongside music, food and other fun activities.

 

Outreach Team

Roy and Tim talked with students about volunteer opportunities at the Centennial College Volunteer Fair.

 

Being on the LEAF Outreach Team is a lot of fun, as you can see from all the smiles in these photos. Barry tells us that being part of the Outreach Team gives him the feeling that he’s “doing something useful for the community.” And Amy says she “learned so much and met fantastic people.” How can you argue with that?

 

Farmer's Market

Christine hung out at the farmers’ market at Wychwood Barns.

 

We ask our teams members to attend at least five events throughout the year, but some enjoyed outreach so much that they attended as many as 15 events in 2013! Beyond giving back to your community and meeting great people, some of the perks of the Outreach Team include:

 

  • First dibs and free entry to events
  • Being in the know regarding all things LEAF
  • Increasing your knowledge of and enthusiasm for the urban forest
  • Being part of a great team
  • Your own LEAF t-shirt
  • Year-end celebration with other team members

 

Being on the Outreach Team is an opportunity to have some fun while talking up the programs you love and encouraging others to join the LEAF community. We’re looking for new members to add to the team so we can make it to even more events this year! If you’re already a volunteer, send us a quick email to let us know you’re interested in being part of this special group. And if not, you can apply to be a LEAF volunteer here and mention that you want to join the outreach team!

 

Special thanks to the superstars of the 2013 Outreach Team: Tim, Katy, Taylor, Leigh, Amy, Caitlin, Barry, Holly, Amy, Mira, Roy, Christine, Patricia, Sevan, Joe and Natalie! You guys are amazing! 

 

Robyn Stewart is the Education & Outreach Coordinator at LEAF.