Become a Young Urban Forest Leader
Become a Young Urban Forest Leader!
This innovative program is supporting the next wave of environmental leaders in their growth! The goal of the program is to provide valuable experience in the fields of arboriculture, urban forestry and community engagement.
Key Activities Include:
- Completing the LEAF Tree Tenders Volunteer Tree Training Program - 15 hours of online arboriculture training led by local professionals
- Participating in online skill-building workshops and mentored activities - meetings take place weekly on Tuesday evenings from late April through August
- Working to improve the tree canopy in communities. This includes assessing the existing canopy, identifying opportunities for tree planting and stewardship and engaging local residents, all with guidance and support from LEAF. Activities/events include:
- Online outreach
- In-person tree tour events
- Participating in peer-feedback, career-planning sessions and professional development and networking events
The Benefit to Participants:
- Gain hard and soft skills in arboriculture, urban forestry and community engagement to prepare for employment and/or post-secondary education
- Skills include tree biology, identification, planting, mulching, understanding Toronto's tree bylaws and threats to the urban forest, leadership and teamwork, public speaking, visual communication and virtual outreach
- Meet industry professionals and explore various career paths
- Receive a certificate of completion
- Contribute to increased appreciation of the urban forest
- Build meaningful connections with other passionate young people
Applicant Criteria
Applicants Must:
- Be between the ages of 18 and 29
- Be a resident of the City of Toronto
- Be able to commit up to 5 hours per week. Meetings occur weekly on Tuesday evenings from May through August
- Be available to attend LEAF’s Tree Tenders Volunteer Training (15 hours of online arboriculture training led by local professionals). The course will take place in May over four evenings and one weekend - Each of the five classes is mandatory
- Have an interest in arboriculture, urban forestry and/or environmental community engagement
Priority will be given to applicants from underrepresented groups within arboriculture and urban forestry with a need to participate in a fully-funded training program.
The Young Urban Forest Leaders Program is funded in part by the City of Toronto Urban Forestry Grant and Incentives Program.
LEAF adopts and upholds the City of Toronto’s policy statement which prohibits discrimination and harassment and protects the right to be free of hate activity, based on age, ancestry, citizenship, creed (religion), colour, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender identity, level of literacy, marital status, place of origin, membership in a union or staff association, political affiliation, race, receipt of public assistance, record of offences, sex, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristics by or within the organization.
Young Urban Forest Leaders Initiatives
After overwhelmingly positive feedback, the Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFL) program will once again be delivered using a hybrid model of online and in-person learning opportunities.
Community-Centred Urban Forestry
YUFLs will learn about various urban forestry topics from industry experts, including the negative impacts that communities with a lower canopy cover face. They will organize and lead a guided tree tour to directly engage residents from communities with low tree cover and promote native species planting by facilitating a free native shrub giveaway.
Learn More & Apply Today
The YUFL program is a free, online and in-person training and mentorship program for Toronto youths (18 – 29 years old) interested in arboriculture, urban forestry and community engagement. It is open to all youth, but seeks to support Toronto youth from equity-deserving groups within arboriculture and urban forestry including (but not limited to) women, non-binary people, Indigenous peoples, newcomers, 2SLGBTQ+ persons and racialized individuals.
Click here to watch the Virtual information session for the Young Urban Forest Leaders Program held on March 12, 2024
Applications for the 2024 YUFL program are closed.
You may sign-up to receive an e-mail notification when registrations open for the 2025 program.
Recognizing the benefits of virtual and in-person learning, the program was delivered to 21 enthusiastic Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs) using a hybrid model. This approach supported at-home learning while providing ways to apply newfound skills in the real world!
Increase Urban Forest Resilience
The YUFLs learned about how, under a warming climate, communities with fewer trees will experience the most adverse impacts of climate change. This is why the participants helped increase urban forest resilience across Toronto and promoted native species planting in neighbourhoods with low tree cover. They organized and led guided tree tours of Dorset and Spenvalley Park where they were able to directly engage with residents and distribute almost 500 native shrubs!
Gaining Knowledge
Throughout the program, the YUFLs participated in interactive workshops with industry leaders. They covered topics such as tree identification, Indigenous land practices and perspectives, importance of marketing in urban forestry and conducting “Neighbourwoods” tree inventories.
Emerging from two years of pandemic-driven lockdowns, the program was delivered through a mix of remote and in-person workshops. This structure allowed 15 Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs) to engage in opportunities that grew the urban forest in their own communities and in neighbourhoods across Toronto.
Supporting Planting
Throughout the program, the YUFLs encouraged residents to plant native species to grow and support the urban forest. With the help of their efforts, 300 native shrubs were distributed for planting on private property within Toronto.
Cultivating Curiosity
Tapping into the knowledge and skills gained from the program, the YUFLs developed and led a four-part educational webinar series, which ran from August 9th to 18th. Webinar topics included look-a-like species, native shrubs, edible species and urban wildlife, as well as actions that residents can take that sustain the urban forest.
After an overwhelmingly successful switch to a remote format last year, we hosted the program virtually again in 2021. We engaged 21 Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs) from across Toronto, each making an impact in the urban forest in their own communities!
Growing the Urban Forest
YUFL participants helped grow the urban forest in their communities by promoting the LEAF native shrub giveaway. Through community outreach to residents, leaders and local city councillors, YUFLs facilitated greening by promoting the giveaway of 300 native shrubs for planting on private property.
Engaging Communities
Drawing on the skills they developed over the course of the program, YUFLs curated and delivered a series of four educational webinars that ran from August 10th to 19th. The series highlighted tree identification, common urban stressors, and the historical significance of tree species, while working to encourage community members to take action and connecting them with available resources.
To ensure the health and safety of program participants, we moved the program entirely online. With tremendous interest for the remote program, we increased the size of the cohort from 12 to 19 Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs).
The YUFLs worked within their own communities across the city to spark awareness and engage neighbours to grow and care for the urban forest. Each YUFL applied the skills they learned in the program to assess local tree canopy composition and tree health. This assessment helped to identify priorities for tree planting and stewardship.
Greening Communities
The YUFLs promoted the importance of native species and #BackyardBiodiversity, encouraging residents to plant more native species through the Backyard Tree Planting program and through a special free native shrub distribution program.
Sharing Knowledge
All their hard work culminated in a four-part educational webinar series that ran from September 1st to 10th that discussed the trees found in the Greater Toronto Area, the vital role these trees play in an urban landscape, the stress they face and what can be done to care for them.
A team of six Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs) collaborated with local community groups to help green the Bloordale and Brockton neighbourhoods. The Bloordale Community Improvement Association and the Botanicus Art Ensemble came together with the YUFL team to spark awareness and engage neighbours in improving the local urban forest.
The YUFLs helped local residents plant more native trees and shrubs through planting incentives and giveaways, promoted Backyard Biodiversity and the benefits of native species for wildlife through habitat creation, and helped revitalize the existing Adopt-a-Street Tree program at Bloordale.
Their hard work culminated in a tree tour through the community. Learn more about tricks to tell some species apart and the beauty of bringing a community together in their blog.
The Bloordale Community Improvement Association and the Bloordale BIA initiated the Bloordale Adopt-a-Street-Tree project in 2016. Since then, the 50 newly planted trees between Dufferin and Lansdowne have been cared for by local businesses and residents so that each tree thrives.
The Botanicus Art Ensemble is a community arts organization based out of the MacGregor Playground Park. They bring professional artists and gardeners together with community members with the goal of fostering creative expression and the exchange of ideas. They also seek to enhance the enjoyment of public spaces and the connection with nature in the urban environment.
A team of seven Young Urban Forest Leaders (YUFLs) supported The Pocket Community Association in efforts to revitalize engagement in environmental initiatives in the neighbourhood.
The YUFLs helped local residents plant more native trees and shrubs through planting incentives and giveaways, promoted Backyard Biodiversity and the benefits of native species for wildlife through habitat creation, and engaged with the community on tree stewardship initiatives in Phin Park.
Their hard work culminated in a tree tour through Phin Park. Learn more about some interesting facts of common Toronto trees in their blog.
The Pocket community is tucked between the Greenwood TTC yard and CN train tracks. A key feature and the heart of the neighbourhood is Phin Park, a small park that is a favourite hub for families in the area.
The Pocket Community Association has been active for over 12 years. During its time, the association has undertaken various projects to engage with residents and green the community. Most notably,100 front yard trees and 35 park trees were planted as part of The Pocket Tree Project a few years ago. The YUFL Program will re-energize interest in planting and caring for native trees and shrubs to promote biodiverse spaces for urban wildlife!
Centennial Park
Five of our Young Urban Forest Leaders supported the Friends of Centennial Park to establish a new Adopt-a-Park-Tree project. Learn more about the work they undertook in order to help launch the program in Centennial Park in their blog.
Centennial Park is one of Toronto’s busiest parks and is the second largest in the City at 525 acres. In 2014, approximately 450 trees were removed from the park due to Emerald Ash Borer.
Friends of Centennial Park, in partnership with Our Place Initiative, works with the local community, advocating for improvements to the park to increase everyone's enjoyment of this wonderful space. They have been working on tree planting initiatives to help increase the tree canopy, and now, the Friends of Centennial Park are developing an Adopt-a-Park-Tree project that will foster stewardship for years to come.
Guild Park
Four of our Young Urban Forest Leaders supported the Friends of Guild Park to establish a new Adopt-a-Park-Tree project. To launch the project, a tree tour and mulching event was held in Guild Park. Learn more about the event in their blog.
Guild Park is 36 hectares, located on the geologically significant landform of the Scarborough Bluffs. It’s located within the transition life zone between the Southern and Great Lake-St. Lawrence Forest systems, characterized by both the coniferous trees of the northern Boreal forest mixed with deciduous trees.
Since 2013, the Friends of Guild Park have been working to increase the awareness and appreciation of Guild Park & Gardens as a spectacular and sustainable public destination, where art meets nature. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics, saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in downtown Toronto, arranged akin to ancient ruins.
Trinity Bellwoods Park
Nestled in the heart of downtown Toronto, this popular park was the first in the city to launch an Adopt-a-Park-Tree program in 2006.
However, with 90 new trees and changes in program coordination, the Friends of Trinity Bellwoods was seeking support to revitalize their Adopt-a-Park-Tree program. This year, four of our Young Urban Forest Leaders helped Friends of Trinity Bellwoods incorporate the new trees into the long-standing Adopt-a-Park-Tree program. Learn more about the interactive activity the team organized during the tree tour and mulching event in their blog.
Five of LEAF's Young Urban Forest Leaders worked with the Friends of Berczy Park to start an Adopt-a-Park-Tree program after the park's official re-opening in the spring of 2017! Learn more about the challenges that these 57 park trees face in an urban setting in their blog.
The park was fully renovated in 2015 and 2016. Several mature trees were removed and 41 new trees have been planted. the Friends of Berczy Park, with the support of the Young Urban Forest Leaders, are taking action to nurture these young trees to survive the vulnerable first years of life and to recreate the cherished tree canopy in this busy urban park.
Four of LEAF’s Young Urban Forest Leaders worked with the P.I.N.E Project to provide an estimated 90 new trees that are anticipated for planting this fall along the beautiful Humber River edge with some TLC. Learn more about how the community came together to learn about and help provide mulch for the trees in their blog.
The P.I.N.E Project delivers wilderness programs in Etienne Brule and King’s Mill parks nearly year-round, running a community outdoor school with approximately 250 participants and several summer programs that serve approximately 700 participants. Their programs connect children with the natural world through outdoor programming in all weather, teaching them about their natural surroundings and developing bushcraft skills. The Young Urban Forest Leaders will train staff and participants on how to care for the newly planted trees to ensure they thrive.
Four of LEAF’s Young Urban Forest Leaders worked with the Friends of Stephenson Park to help kickstart a new tree stewardship project that will support the establishment of about 30 newly planted trees. Learn more about the tree tour and how campers came together to provide some TLC for the trees in their blog.
Stephenson Park is loved and well-used by the local community, with a busy splash pool and baseball diamond. In 2016, many of the trees suffered in the extreme drought. The Young Urban Forest Leaders are working to help raise awareness of the importance of our trees and increase the community's commitment to care for them.
Supporting Partners
