Mike Hurley, TFL’s Executive Director and sole runner for the Acorns this year, successfully completed the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 5K on October 15th, just seconds shy of his best-ever time. Your generosity raised over $x,xxx in support of tree planting in the Toronto waterfront area near the race route including Tommy Thompson Park.

On the same day, just north of Toronto, over 100 volunteers including over 20 from our corporate supporter Less Mess, gathered at Beaver Woodland in Richmond Hill to lend LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests), a helping hand as they grow Richmond Hill’s urban forest.

A HUGE thank you to all of you for the planting on Saturday, October 21st. at Kortright Hills in Guelph.

With the combined TD Tree Days, TFL, and Trees for Guelph volunteers, 600 native trees and shrubs were added to the City of Guelph’s Kortright Hills tree canopy of the future.

For the 2nd consecutive year, Trees for Life and the Ontario Association of Cemetery and Funeral Professionals (OACFP) created a lasting green legacy for the community where the annual OACFP conference was held. This year, that community was Huntsville, ON. Through a partnership between Trees for Life, the OACFP, the Town of Huntsville, and with funding provided by Meridian Credit Union, 100 new trees were planted at three local cemeteries.

In collaboration with the City of Edmonton’s Root for Trees program, TD Friends of the Environment and Covenant Health, Trees for Life hosted the largest-ever tree planting event honouring healthcare workers on October 5.

On September 30, 2023, Beechwood Cemetery Foundation alongside their partners, the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society and the Assembly of 7 Generations unveiled a new Sacred Forest. This monument features three large boulders, with a central plaque.

For the 2nd year in a row, Trees for Life is honoured to be chosen as an environmental charity partner of Canada Running Series and the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Last year over $25K was raised through the CRS races partnership. These funds went to support the efforts of TFL’s planting partner the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, including planting over 4200 trees and shrubs at 5 sites in close proximity to the race route along Toronto’s waterfront.

Thanks to our friends at the City of Guelph and corporate partner Royal Canin Canada, there are now 175 new native trees including Bur Oak, White Cedar and Sugar Maple in the Kortright Hills Natural Area in Guelph. This marks the second time in as many years that we are fortunate to be working together and greening an important part of the Hanlon Creek watershed.

This month, we Get to Know our native Red Oak (also known as Northern Red Oak)

Scientific name: Quercus rubra

A fast-growing native oak with a broadly rounded shape. The foliage starts out light red in the spring, turning dark green in the summer and finally vibrant reds and oranges in the fall.

This month, we will Get to Know our native Kentucky Coffee-tree.

Scientific name: Gymnocladus dioicus

Status: Threatened. This means the Kentucky Coffee-tree lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it.

Some interesting facts you may not know about Native plants

Increasingly, gardeners are looking for native plant varieties – generally defined as “species which existed in North America prior to European contact”. Discovering native plant varieties opens our garden design to new possibilities.

Sometimes called evergreens, most coniferous trees keep their foliage year-round. There are over 600 living species of conifers, and while there is some debate over how many are native to Canada, the number is approximately 30. Conifers include the oldest and tallest trees.