Launching a Brand New Adopt-A-Tree Program at Centennial Park | LEAF | Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests

As part of LEAF’s 2018 Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs) program, Armita, Farheen, Megan and Sneha joined efforts with Our Place Initiative to launch a new Adopt-A-Park-Tree program in Centennial Park. To introduce the program, a public Tree Tour and stewardship event was held at the park on Sunday, August 26th, 2018. Though it was a hot summer afternoon, there was great community turn out with lots of excitement, energy and great stewardship spirit!

© 2018 David Slaughter Four YUFLs (© 2018 David Slaughter)

Young Urban Forest Leaders (from left to right): Farheen, Armita, Sneha and Megan

In addition to being home to many beautiful trees, Centennial Park is a bustling community hub, with golf, soccer, baseball, go-karting, a beautiful conservatory, and so much more. And now, to add to that list, local residents can care for a park tree! Centennial Park’s newly launched Adopt-A-Park-Tree program teaches and encourages community members to care for a tree through stewardship activities, such as regular watering and monitoring.

© 2018 Farheen Kadwa Young woman standing by a tree(© 2018 Farheen Kadwa)

Farheen shows a tree looking to be adopted

Centennial Park’s Adopt-A-Park-Tree program began in early May when the four Young Urban Forest Leaders teamed up with Our Place Initiative. The first step was determining which trees would be part of the program.

© 2018 Natalie Secen Group looking at maps on a picnic table(© 2018 Natalie Secen)

YUFLs and Our Place Initiative hard at work!

To do this, three zones in the large park were identified as popular spaces with lots of young trees and a nearby water source to make watering easier. These three zones were selected as the ideal areas for the program. They are located close to the Centennial Conservatory, Seneca School and the Centennial Park Arena, Zones A, B and C respectively. Then, an inventory of the trees in these zones was conducted and mapped in preparation to recruit adopters.

Google map with pins for every tree(Google map)

Overview of the three inventories conducted in Centennial Park: Zone A, B, and C. Click here to explore the maps in further detail.

The public Tree Tour and stewardship event was held on Sunday 26th August, 2018 close to the Conservatory. This was the official inauguration of the park’s Adopt-A-Park-Tree program. During the tree tour, various trees in the Adopt-A-Park-Tree program were highlighted. Some of the trees need a lot of care to combat urban stressors, such as physical damage and drought.

© 2018 David Slaughter A composite with pictures from the Tree Tour(© 2018 David Slaughter)

Tree Tour of Centennial Park

At the end of the tour, participants learned about the benefits of mulching and how to mulch trees correctly -- make a mulch doughnut, not a volcano! All the young trees in zone A were mulched.

© 2018 David Slaughter People mulching (© 2018 David Slaughter)

Community mulching efforts!

After the tour and mulching, people had the chance to sign up to Adopt-A-Park-Tree, take home a free native shrub and engage in some “tree chat” over delicious snacks and refreshments.

© 2018 David Slaughter Table with flyers and brochures(© 2018 David Slaughter)

LEAF freebies

Trees were adopted by participants at the event, but, many more are still up for adoption! If you would like to care for one (or more!) trees, please contact Jonathan from Our Place Initiative. And, if you know someone who lives or works in the vicinity of Centennial Park, please encourage them to adopt a tree of their own!

Learn more about LEAF’s Young Urban Forest Leaders program here.

Learn more about LEAF’s Adopt-A-Park-Tree program here.

Learn more about the Our Place Initiative and their Adopt-A-Park-Tree program here.

Farheen Kadwa, Megan Rowcliffe, Sneha Singh, and Armita Zaferani are participants of the 2018 Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFL) program organized by LEAF.

LEAF’s Adopt-a-Park-Tree and Young Urban Forest Leaders programs are implemented in partnership with Park People and are supported by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation.