A Passion for Native Maples
Ken Jewett, businessman, naturalist, and philanthropist, shares his story of love for native maple trees, spanning decades, which has resulted in a legacy of roads lined with their undeniable beauty.
It was a native arboreal tree that inspired an image of its leaf on our national flag. Not just any maple but a sugar maple.
Where did your passion for native maples originate?
I was working on my farm in Brooklin, Ontario probably in my early 20’s when I thought, “I want to plant more native Canadian sugar maples. This will be my life.” And not just any sugar maple but a sugar maple whose mother lived in the neighbourhood – a local, native maple.
He had a lot of living to do before he would dedicate himself to the task. After working in the forestry business for nearly two decades, at 40, he turned his passion for cooking into a business. Marsan Foods became a leading North American producer of frozen entrees and healthcare products. At 65 years old he handed the reigns of the family business over to his sons Graeme and James.
It was time to launch his next successful enterprise, Maple Leaves Forever (MLF). He then committed himself to the promotion, education, and planting of Canada’s tree, the sugar maple [Acer saccharum].
Ken Jewett started community work as an Assistant Scoutmaster. In fact, it was the Brooklin farm where he planted thousands of trees, that he gave access to the Scouts for camping. Ken was also a big brother, a life honorary board member to which he dedicated 10 years. Over 25 years later, Mr. Jewett is busy every day with his charity MLF. “I started MLF in 2000 with the mandate and determination to encourage the planting of native Canadian maple trees. Like any new venture, it took time and patience to settle into where we are today.” He explains. Over the past two-plus decades, Maple Leaves Forever has supported the planting of 133,443 native Canadian Maple trees. The organization also inspires private citizens to plant native maples on their property, offering a ‘thank you subsidy’ as a further incentive.
How did you become involved with Trees for Life?
Ken was approached by Tony DiGiovanni, then Executive Director of Landscape Ontario to support the Highway of Heroes campaign. Ken asked about the use of native maple trees whenever a maple was called for in the planting project. Tony confirmed that the hero trees would be native, many of them maples, and with that, Ken was in.
Both campaigns are passionate about planting native species because they are conditioned to our climate, they are hardier, bringing resilient biodiversity and other benefits to the Canadian landscape, plus it’s hard to beat the beauty of a native Canadian maple in its fall splendor! Ken’s $25,000 donation in the early days of the Highway of Heroes campaign was a game-changer for the then-fledgling organization.
Why do you continue to support Trees for Life?
While Ken has arranged for the continuation of Maple Leaves Forever, for many more years, he values the accomplishments and relationships that he has built with Trees for Life. “Through collaboration, we can accomplish more, faster. Trees for Life is working to build bridges with and between as many partners as possible to accelerate tree planting across the country. That’s a good thing.”