The City of Toronto provided trees and shrubs for the event and LEAF volunteers took on the role of team leaders, identifying species and placing them in suitable planting locations, and providing mentorship to community members throughout the day.
Everyone was organized into groups and given a brief orientation on the basics of proper tree planting by the team leaders – and then we were off! Over 100 people came out to help. All were eager to help our urban forest and enthusiastically joined in the efforts to increase the tree canopy in the park.
There was no boy or girl too small to carry out tree planting tasks, from digging holes to mulching newly planted trees and shrubs…even supervising the adults! Kids were playing their part in transforming this grassy space into a thriving urban forest.
And of course, the adults helped a bit too. The trees and shrubs required lots of mulch to inhibit weeds, hold in moisture and protect them from cold winter weather.
By the end of the day, we succeeded in planting 250 trees and shrubs and spreading over 10 cubic yards of mulch!
As we walked away from the planting site, dirty and tired, I heard many of those who had helped out talking excitedly about their day, and I knew what we had accomplished was bigger than just the trees in the ground.
This event was undertaken in partnership with Toronto and Region Conservation.