Jeff promotes the free trees offered by the City, LEAF’s Backyard Tree Planting Program and works with contractors to plant much larger stock trees in peoples’ front yards. When he moved onto Ravina Crescent in the Pocket almost 20 years ago, the street was lined with a canopy of Norway maples that had been planted during World War I. Sadly they’ve lost one or two each year, and today only have about eight or nine of the historic trees left.
The fear of losing this incredible canopy, along with the shade and privacy that it offers, led Jeff and fellow residents to invest in planting large caliper trees along the street. It’s hard to deny that a street without large, shady trees feels a bit barren, and Pocket residents had little interest (and were a little late) in replacing their glorious canopy with the young saplings offered by the city.
As a way to catch up with the aging canopy, residents invested in mature trees to line their streets and maintain the welcoming feel of the Pocket. Since 2007, more than $18,000 has been spent on planting nine large caliper trees along Ravina Crescent. And plans are in the works to spend another $8,000 on six additional native trees, mainly sugar and silver maples.
Jeff’s labour of love has been the ongoing renaturalization of Phin Park. Jeff had teamed up with his neighbours to plan their first community park planting day in 2007. Non-native fruit trees were planted along the path and a few maples were planted around the playground. Since then, more native species have since been added to the park, many of which were supplied and planted by Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation. Jeff also naturalized the edges of the park with plants from LEAF, a great attraction for the local birds.
But birds aren’t the only beneficiaries of the greener streets and revamped park. Jeff went from "a concerned citizen taking a course on trees," to a community leader promoting healthy living and community engagement. With his neighbours he created a park that is well loved and used by all. Events there have included Easter egg hunts, clean-up days, movie nights, fireworks, and even skating on a home-made rink.
Jeff remains actively involved in protecting and improving the place he calls home, and the whole community has jumped onboard. Through the Pocket Community Association (PCA), Jeff has been involved with the Pocket Tree Project, which is lining up the next planting of large calipers by the end of May. Recently he even teamed up with LEAF Arborist Michelle Bordeau to lead the Pocket Tree Tour!
Jeff mentions that he still has a few ideas up his sleeve: adding to the gardens, improving the playground, painting the wading pool, volleyball nets.... the list goes on. And there's always room for more. "Overall the area is quite cohesive and green," he says. "But we do need to keep educating people that trees and green spaces are very beneficial to them."
If you want to learn about how you can make a difference in your neighborhood take our Tree Tenders Volunteer Training to learn more about how you can protect and improve your urban forest. You can also join in on our next tree tour - Out of the Ashes Tree Tour: Lessons from the Emerald Ash Borer.
See you in the park!