Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

LEAF works to protect and enhance our urban forest. Our mission is to raise public awareness, foster a sense of ownership, engage diverse communities, provide educational tools and resources and facilitate urban forest stewardship.

History of Organization

Founder and Executive Director Janet McKay started a small seedling distribution project in 1995. The poor survival rates of the seedlings suggested to McKay that citizens need to be educated in order to be able to act as effective stewards of their individual trees, as well as care for the urban forest as a whole. Over the next few years McKay worked to find funding to create and improve the Backyard Tree Planting Program (BYTP). The program offers trees to homeowners at a subsidized rate which includes personal, professional advice from certified arborists, focusing on getting the right tree in the right place. To date LEAF has planted over 14000 native trees and shrubs. In 2008 BYTP expanded beyond Toronto and into York Region, and in Fall 2009 ran a pilot project in the Guelph area. Two other programs, the Toronto Tree Tours and Tree Tenders Volunteer Training, were added in 2004 and 2006, respectively. These programs have significantly increased LEAF’s educational and awareness-raising abilities. Other projects include tree inventories, educational talks and special events. LEAF also mentors emerging urban forest organizations and facilitates community tree inventories and stewardship projects. In 2009 LEAF began to focus on Ontario-wide urban forest issues by co-founding the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition, whose mission is to ensure protection and preservation of natural areas and to encourage investment in leafy green infrastructure such as urban forests and green roofs. In early 2010 LEAF spearheaded the Urban Forest Stewardship Network, bringing together community-based urban forest organizations from across Ontario to share resources and advance the agenda of healthier urban forests on a provincial scale.

Accolades and Accomplishments

• 2010 LEAF spearheads the Urban Forest Stewardship Network (www.ufsn.ca )
• 2009 LEAF co-founds the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition (www.yourleaf.org/gio)
• 2009 LEAF’s Toronto Tree Tours selected as "Vital Idea" by the Toronto Community Foundation
• 2007 LEAF receives the Green Toronto Environmental Awareness Award
• 2005 LEAF’s Backyard Tree Planting Program selected as "Vital Idea" by the Toronto Community Foundation
• 2004 LEAF recognized as a Tree Advocacy Sponsor by Mayor David Miller
• 2003 Executive Director Janet McKay receives the Arboriculture Award of Merit from the International Society of Arboriculture.

Programs

>The Toronto Tree Tours
>Backyard Tree Planting Program
>Tree Tenders Volunteer Training Program

The Backyard Tree Planting Program (BYTP) offers native trees and shrubs to property owners at a subsidized cost. Certified arborists assist residents in making educated decisions about the type of tree that suits their property and where it should be planted. Since our first planting season in 1996, we've helped citizens plant over 14,000 native trees and shrubs in their neighbourhoods. The Tree Tenders Volunteer Training Program helps citizens become volunteers with the skills and knowledge to enact positive, immediate change for the urban forest in their own neighbourhood. Each session provides basic arboriculture training which includes a combination of indoor and outdoor instruction, often ending in a hands-on tree planting activity. Sessions are offered at affordable rates, and are open to the public. Our workshops, talks and Toronto Tree Tours raise awareness and educate the public about urban forest issues. Sessions can include hands-on components. Topics include urban forest issues; native species; tree identification; tree care; biodiversity; citizen stewardship; and how the urban forest fits in with larger environmental concerns. We often work with libraries, residents’ associations and other community groups to provide these services.

The Toronto Tree Tours

The Toronto Tree Tours tell the stories of the urban forest and the people and places it sustains. The program’s accessible nature, set within a welcoming atmosphere of story telling and community sharing, plays an essential role in helping LEAF to create a paradigm shift where people see the individual trees in their yards, on their streets and in their neighbourhoods as valuable green infrastructure and an important piece of the city’s urban forest. The tours are designed and led in partnership with community groups and individuals. By introducing people to the trees in their neighbourhood, and allowing them an opportunity to actively care for them, the tours instil a sense of ownership and personal responsibility. Once citizens are engaged through the Toronto Tree Tours, LEAF’s other programs provide them with additional opportunities to gain knowledge, skills and tools necessary to advocate for tree protection, care, and improvement in their own neighbourhoods.

Program Impact

Since 2006, the Toronto Tree Tours program has worked with 97 partner organizations to lead 2725 Toronto residents young and old, on 71 guided tours in diverse Toronto neighbourhoods, with select tours posted on an interactive website with self-guided tours, including translated tours. Our Community Stewardship tours conclude with activities such as mulching, watering or caring for local trees, providing tangible environmental benefits to the community. Our high profile public tours provide a welcoming, accessible, unintimidating atmosphere in which to discover the central role that trees play in urban life, and inspire community engagement.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“The City’s goal is to double the tree canopy by 2050, from a currently estimated 18% – including about 3 million publicly owned trees – to the 30%-40% coverage, recommended to maintain a healthy urban forest.” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

“As a Newcomer Youth Advisor at the YMCA, I seek out activities for my youth group in Toronto that will help them get more familiar with their surroundings and help them develop into leaders. The Tree Tour that LEAF provided to our group was excellent! The guide was friendly and energetic and took us on a tour of Trinity Bellwoods Park, and area of town that these youth were not familiar with. The youth in my group, who are mostly originally from China and live in North York, were exposed to fun facts about trees, and also an area of Toronto that was new to them. They were particularly amazed to learn that a river used to run where a street now is. Overall, I think Tree Tours are a great way to get people outside and learning about their surroundings and the environment.” - Hanna Caplan, Newcomer Youth Advisor, YMCA

Backyard Tree Planting Program

The Backyard Tree Planting Program (BYTP) offers native trees and shrubs to property owners at a subsidized cost. Certified arborists assist residents in making educated decisions about the type of tree that suits their property and where it should be planted. Since the first planting season in 1996, BYTP has helped citizens plant over 14,000 native trees and shrubs in their neighbourhoods. Due to high demand from urban municipalities across Ontario, LEAF is currently testing the feasibility of different BYTP models that will allow it to expand into the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. Currently the program is offered to residents of Toronto and the southern municipalities of York Region – Vaughan, Markham and Richmond Hill. In Fall 2009 a pilot project launched in retail nurseries in Guelph, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo area which will continue in spring of 2010. Also in spring 2010 a test do-it-yourself version of the program will run in York Region’s northern municipalities.

Program Impact

LEAF’s residential planting program work with homeowners to get the right trees and shrubs in the right place where each will reach maximum size and age and optimal health, thus providing maximum benefits. LEAF provides the tools and professional support for each individual to nurture their young tree to healthy maturity. Homeowners become the stewards of the urban forest, each taking care of their own tree and contributing to a healthier city. Since 1996 over 14000 trees and shrubs have been planted through this program, including 1252 in 2009. Over 85% of 2009 program participants in Toronto said they have better tree knowledge after planting with this program.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“The City’s goal is to double the tree canopy by 2050, from a currently estimated 18% – including about 3 million publicly owned trees – to the 30%-40% coverage, recommended to maintain a healthy urban forest.” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

“When we purchased our house, the backyard was a blank slate. Lots of grass and not much else. We really wanted to plant trees in the yard but nurseries charge a fortune for good-sized trees and the task of getting them home and planting them ourselves seemed a bit overwhelming. It was great to have an expert help us choose the trees that were right for our yard and to simply sit back and wait for our new trees to be planted in our yard. A great service and we are so fortunate to have found out about it when we did.” - Stacey, Toronto

Tree Tenders Volunteer Training Program

The Tree Tenders Volunteer Training program provides volunteers with skills and opportunities that will help them to serve their communities by restoring, enhancing and protecting urban trees. The Tree Tenders Volunteer Training course involves 15 hours of instruction, through indoor and outdoor lectures and activities. Local experts and guest speakers help LEAF staff to lead the sessions. The program also strives to provide rewarding, hands-on stewardship opportunities for graduates, whether through volunteering with LEAF or another organization, or starting their own urban forest project.

Program Impact

Tree Tenders graduates work with LEAF, municipal staff, and other non-profit organizations to improve the health of trees, increase tree cover, and promote and protect the city’s green infrastructure. Since 2006 over 300 citizens have been trained to care for and protect Toronto’s urban forest through the Tree Tenders Volunteer Training program. In 2009, 60 Tree Tender graduates took part in hands-on stewardship projects throughout the city. 2010 will see LEAF provide many more hands-on opportunities for these individuals, including naturalizing subway stations in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission, and running planting and maintenance activities in various green spaces throughout the city, including the LEAF Learning Garden at the Artscape Wychwood Barns, Toronto Island and various other public locations.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“The City’s goal is to double the tree canopy by 2050, from a currently estimated 18% – including about 3 million publicly owned trees – to the 30%-40% coverage, recommended to maintain a healthy urban forest.” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

“I have used it to better care for the trees and shrubs I have the privilege of tending in my back and front yards. When I've been out for walks and noticed young trees that are staked and do not need the support, I've untied the trees to let them move and grow as needed and to eliminate the risk of future girdling. I've also been noticing trees more - eg. their shape, where they're growing, etc, and have noticed when they've been well or poorly cared for, whether generally or on construction sites. My tree "awareness" is, generally, greater than it was before.” - Paula, 2009 graduate “Yes. I have planted over two dozen trees (deciduous and coniferous) on my own property and those of friends, neighbours and relatives. The grassroots knowledge and engagement I acquired through the Tree Tenders course was central to my understanding as to not simply "planting a tree"...but also, "to growing a tree". Trees must be nurtured. The ongoing process of nurturing trees is among the most important life forms central to our existence.” - Steven, 2007 graduate “The tree tenders course aroused my curiosity about trees and plants in general. I can no longer just walk by a tree without really looking at, and appreciating, it.” - Nada, 2009 graduate