November 07, 2013
Jessica Piskorowski
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Friends of Monarch Park, Park People and LEAF were already hard at work mulching away when I stepped into the park two Saturdays ago. Last year, several of its large trees were brought to the ground by a heavy wind storm and it was imperative that succession planting be an important part of renewing the canopy. The vision of so many key community players had me up early to see the dream of a healthy canopy get a little closer to realization.
November 07, 2013
Robyn Stewart
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If a tree falls in the urban forest, what happens to the wood? Does it go in the garbage, get chipped for mulch or become something beautiful? Usually, this wood is treated as waste and sometimes even sent to a landfill. But some are starting to see it as a resource that can be turned into furniture, bowls and art instead. On a cold, rainy Saturday morning this fall, I headed to Maple Cottage (the site of the Maple Leaf Forever Tree and Park) for a Tree Tour focused on utilizing this urban wood.
November 07, 2013
Victoria Badham
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On a sunny October Sunday, the Highland Creek Green Team, in partnership with TRCA, LEAF and the City of Toronto, held a community planting event in Cedarbrook Park. Volunteers, neighbours, students and families, all with ties to Centennial College, pitched in to plant trees and help clean litter from the park.
November 04, 2013
Robyn Stewart
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Happy November! It’s getting too chilly for many outdoor activities, so we’re focusing on indoor presentations – we’ve got two on Wednesday!
October 30, 2013
Guest Blogger
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The Bain Coop, known for its beautiful courtyard gardens and community composting activities, among many other things, celebrated its 100th anniversary on a sunny Saturday September 14th. The moving and delightful ménage of events including a powwow, open stage music with Bain youth bands and Whiskey Jack, great food, stories and dancing in the street.
October 28, 2013
Robyn Stewart
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Rouge Park is one of the Greater Toronto Area’s hidden jewels. Located on the eastern edge of the city, the park covers 40 square kilometers, stretching from the Oak Ridges Moraine (roughly 50 km north of the City) all the way down to Lake Ontario. While not far from downtown, the park’s historic farms, lush wetlands and wilderness forest make it seem worlds away from the skyscrapers and busy streets of the City’s core.
October 28, 2013
Brenna Anstett
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For the final installment of our Lifestyles of the Green and Leafy series, we wanted to go out on a limb to introduce Monster the elderberry, Stubs the black chokeberry and Yet the bush honeysuckle – three plentiful, fruit-bearing shrubs owned, loved and named by Shelly, a participant of LEAF’s Backyard Tree Planting Program.
October 28, 2013
Jane Clark
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I had learned about the threat of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) to my west-end neighbourhood, and signed up as one of LEAF’s EAB Ambassadors to try to figure out how to do something about it. But I was about to find out what happens when you organize neighbourhood meetings and get the word out in the media. The tide in Ward 14’s urban forest was about to change.
October 28, 2013
Andrea Bake
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It’s almost Halloween, and one of my favourite parts of the season is carving pumpkins! I was never really one for costumes – but give me a knife! I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at it, but every year I make a one-of-a-kind jack-o-lantern. I save my seeds (a very tasty roasted treat) and when All Hallows’ Eve is over, my work of art graces the city-wide compost collection with literally thousands of others. But what if they didn’t have to end up in the green bin?
October 21, 2013
Matthew Higginson
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The air was crisp and the trees dotting the streetscape were soaking up the bright rays of sun when I arrived at the corner of Bloor Street West and Avenue Road one Sunday morning this September. LEAF volunteer Sarah met me there and we soon began to take registrations and collect donations for the Heritage Tree Tour. Philip van Wassenaer -- a man who seems to know all things when it comes to trees, and our leader for this tour – joined us, and with the sounds of the city all around, we were ready to take a stroll and learn about Toronto’s natural history.