Earth Day tree planting event was held on Saturday September 26, 2020.
As this was the first tree planting arranged during COVID-19, a maximum of 20 members (consisting of adults and SSE children) from the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Toronto-York were selected to participate in this event that was organized by the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation department at the Humber Arboretum, in honour of Earth Day. Volunteers were split into areas based on their household, in order to maintain 2 metre (6 feet) social distancing between family social circles.
Together, volunteers planted 65 native trees and shrubs across a designated field in next to the pond of Humber Arboretum. The event helped Toronto Forestry towards achieving their goal before the seasonal change.
After a tutorial demonstration by City staff on the correct depth and method to plant the different trees and shrubs, volunteers worked together in teams and spread out through the site. Due to COVID-19, procedures were adjusted so that all volunteers had their own set of tools to use which were sanitized. Along with this, gloves were provided for each individual to keep and sanitation sites were available to ensure proper protocols and safe distances were followed. Biodegradable mats were places around each tree and then covered in mulch to assist in their growth and development.
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Toronto, the largest city in Canada has an urban forest with an estimated 10.2 million trees covering approximately 18,000 hectares. Forty percent of this valuable resource is situated on public property, including an estimated 3.5 million trees within our parkland system and approximately 600,000 trees on our streets.
Trees work hard. They absorb water, clean the air, provide shade, reduce erosion, flooding and wind tunnels, decrease heating and cooling costs and increase property values. There is a growing body of international research that supports the importance of maintaining healthy, sustainable urban forests. Toronto has adopted the goal of increasing tree canopy coverage from 26.6 – 28% to 40% across the city. One of the primary ways of achieving this goal is through planting of new trees, with a focus on planting large canopy species.
Trees Across Toronto and Green Toronto are initiatives under the city’s native tree and shrub planting program that responds directly to the tree canopy goal and is a major step forward in reclaiming some of our underdeveloped and “un-treed” lands. With the success of our larger planting sites, the focus of Trees Across Toronto has shifted to smaller sites in our parks and ravines to further expand the urban forest and help maintain our existing trees.
Source: City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department