Blogs

I was hired as the spring 2019 Lead Planter at LEAF for the 2019 spring planting season. At the time, I was looking to expand my field experience and was excited to get involved with an organization that has been doing such great work in urban forestry for over 20 years! Now, a year later, I am sharing with you what a typical day might look like as a LEAF planter and why the work we do is so important!

Eleven Toronto Community Housing communities across Toronto welcomed 150 new trees as part of the TCHC Planting and Stewardship Initiative over the past two years. The TREE-rific neighbours not only make the communities greener, but also add unique flare.

The urban forest is made up of more than just the trees in our cities. Urban wildlife also share it with us. Some wildlife migrate south for the winter or go into hibernation throughout the cold season, but many birds and mammals do not. The best way to help those which overwinter here is to create and maintain a healthy, thriving and diverse urban forest with enough options for winter habitat. Here are six native species for winter Backyard Biodiversity.

For Sintra, beautifying her yard is a family affair. Her daughter pointed her towards the LEAF service which resulted in her having a paper birch and American elm spring planted by LEAF in spring 2019. Plus, her grandchildren helped out with the fall planting of shrubs. Her Markham property now has a pagoda dogwood shrub, common snowberries and red osier dogwoods. Our Program Manager, Kim De Lallo, interviews Sintra about her enthusiasm for sharing the beauty of nature across the generations.