split image of LEAF staff member with newly planted tree on left and right, and a cedar waxing eating serviceberry in middle

 

Get Native Trees and Shrubs for Your Yard This Fall!

The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN) and Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF) are partnering to provide residents with native trees and shrubs this fall!

About this Partnership

With a focus on ecological restoration and community engagement, this collaborative partnership aims to nurture a healthier, more resilient urban forest – one that is filled with native plant species, provides food and shelter for wildlife and supports biodiversity. Over the next two years, MSIFN and LEAF will be working together and directly with residents to help facilitate native tree and shrub plantings across MSIFN owned communal spaces and member held properties.

What’s Included?
 

Member Held Properties:

For residents with Certificate of Allocation (CA), Certificate of Possession (CP), Mortgage or Rent-to-Own properties on reserve, you will receive:

  • A 30-minute site consultation with a LEAF arborist who will help you select native species suited to your yard’s unique sun, soil and spacing conditions
  • Up to 3 native deciduous trees (5 to 8 feet tall) or native evergreen trees (2 to 4 feet tall), space permitting OR substitute native shrubs (1 to 2 feet tall) or eastern white cedars (2 to 4 feet tall) at a substitution ratio of 3 shrubs/cedars per 1 tree
  • Delivery and full planting service
  • Mulch and a planting and care guide
  • Ongoing advice through follow-up visits and answers to tree health and care questions

Rental Properties:

For residents who are renting MSIFN homes, we will contact you in 2027 when we will be planting trees and shrubs on the property of the home you are renting. We would love for you to help us select species and even take part in the planting day!

Species Offered
 

LEAF offers a variety of tree and shrub species native to southern Ontario. We’re here to help you choose species that will do best based on your property’s conditions.


Available Trees:

  • basswood
  • black cherry
  • bur oak 
  • eastern white cedar
  • paper birch
  • pin cherry
  • red maple
  • Red oak
  • Serviceberry
  • silver maple
  • sugar maple
  • swamp white oak
  • sycamore
  • tamarack
  • tulip tree
  • white pine
  • white spruce

Available Shrubs:

  • American hazelnut
  • arrowwood
  • bayberry
  • black chokeberry   
  • bush honeysuckle
  • common elderberry 
  • common ninebark
  • common snowberry
  • common witchhazel
  • eastern redbud 
  • fragrant sumac
  • grey dogwood
  • highbush cranberry
  • lowbush blueberry 
  • meadowsweet
  • nannyberry
  • northern wild raisin
  • pagoda dogwood
  • pasture rose
  • purple flowering raspberry 
  • pussy willow
  • red osier dogwood
  • serviceberry   
  • spicebush   
  • St. John's wort

*Please note that availability may vary seasonally and not all species will be suitable for the sun, soil and space conditions of your property.

View Species Profiles

Resources
 

How to Apply

As a reminder, LEAF plants trees that are:

  • 5 feet from property lines or fences
  • 7 feet from hard surfaces (paving, interlocking, decks, etc.)
  • 10 feet from buildings with foundations
  • 20 feet from existing trees (or more, depending on species), includes trees in neighbouring yards
  • 8 feet from stumps
  • 5 feet from swales

LEAF never shares your contact information with any other parties without your permission. Your personal information is used only to process your order and to improve our program. Click here for our full privacy policy.