LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests)‘s three tree tours and tree talk on ‘The Under Storey’ are depicted as follows:
Date: Saturday June 18, 11:00am to 12:30pm
Meeting Location: Southwest corner of Bloor St. and Parkside Dr. (close to Keele Station – Westbound Platform)
Hosts: LEAF with Toronto Botanical Garden and Toronto and Region Conservation
Cost: $5 donation collected on the tour
“Alien Invasion! How “Global Gardening” has impacted Toronto’s urban forest. Paul Zammit, Director of Horticulture for the Toronto Botanical Garden and Colleen Cirillo of Toronto and Region Conservation and the Ontario Invasive Plant Council will reveal how many of Toronto’s most common plants actually originate from abroad. While plants are neither inherently “good or bad”, we will discuss the impacts both native and non-native plants have on the urban forest and what that means for birds, bees, other pollinators and wildlife.”
Date: Sunday, June 19, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Meeting Location: 182 Seaton Street.
Hosts: LEAF with Cabbagetown South Residents Association (CRA)
Cost: $5 donation for non-CRA members collected on the tour
“The name Cabbagetown, coined back in the 1840′s, came from the rows and rows of cabbages and root vegetables planted in the thin sandy soil between Parliament Street and the Don Valley. These crops, grown by Irish emigrants fleeing the potato famine, fed the hungry and filled the empty handed. Out of this rich soil a dense canopy has flourished, and the Cabbagetown neighbourhood is now home to some of the city’s most spectacular trees.
Join LEAF and the Cabbagetown South Residents Association as we explore one of Toronto’s most interesting neighbourhoods. A dense tree canopy blankets this historic neighbourhood, greatly contirbuting to the area’s biodiversity. We’ll visit three special backyard gardens where the homeowners will share personal stories about their trees. Don’t miss this captivating tour through a neighbourhood where the trees are as old as the architecture.”
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Meeting Location: Upper Beach Cafe, 1917 Gerrard Street East
Host: LEAF and Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon
Cost: $5 donationcollected on the tour
Join LEAF and Ward 32 Beaches-East York Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon as we learn about the the trees in this neighbourhood. During the tour, led by LEAF’s Lauren Brown, we will examine some of the stresses trees face and how to properly care for your own trees. We’ll also learn about the invasive pest, Emerald Ash Borer, and the impact it will have on Toronto’s canopy.
Date: Wednesday July 6, 2011, 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Location: North York Civic Centre, Council Chambers, 5100 Yonge St, Toronto
Hosts: LEAF with East Don Parkland Partners and North American Native Plant Society
Cost: FREE
Door Prize: LEAF Native Garden Kit (perennials, shrubs and suggested garden designs); Value of LEAF Native Garden Kit is $125!
“Paul Heydon, engaging biologist and native plant expert, will be our guide on a visual journey through the mysterious forest under story. Get a glimpse of the beautiful and unique life forms that make up this delicate layer of the forest, and walk away with practical ideas about native plants suited to the shadier areas of your own yard. This talk will make you see the forest in a whole new light!
From a young age, Paul Heydon was a natural biologist. Identifying plants in the fields across the road from his parents house turned into a lifelong passion. He graduated from the Forestry program at Sir Sandford Fleming College in 2001, and from the Honours Bachelor of Science program in biology at Trent University in 2006. In 2001, he opened Grow Wild, a native Plant nursery and has recently completed a large species at risk study for Parks Canada about Engelmann’s Quillwort in the Muskoka’s. He has worked with many organizations such as Friends of the Rouge Watershed, Toronto Region Conservation Authority, Kawartha Conservation and Parks Canada to provide consulting advice, plants, and restoration work.”
Contact Info:
Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests (LEAF)
Artscape Wychwood Barns
601 Christie St, Suite 253
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M6G 4C7
Phone 416.413.9244
Email: info[at]yourleaf.org