Ontario, Canada, November 2021
In 2021, A Tree for You donors raised funds for 10,000 trees to grow across 5 farms in Ontario. The Ontario project plants trees into agricultural landscapes for the purpose of promoting biodiversity, restoring and regenerating unproductive lands, and protecting waterways through planting trees along water edges. The project works with farmers to determine the type of restoration needed, tree species diversity and the number of trees that can be planted. Out of the 10,000 trees planned, 7,788 from 15 different tree species were planted this year on five farms, while the rest will be planted next year.
Ontario’s forests were threatened by forest fires and pest infestations. While fires are naturally occurring events for forest regeneration, climate change is making extreme fires more common. In Ontario, the hot temperatures and lack of precipitation resulted in the succession of major fire outbreaks across the province. Fortunately, none of the farms supported by A Tree for You were located in affected areas.
Moreover, Ontario forests have been threatened by LDD moths (Lymantria dispar dispar) who have a voracious appetite for a variety of tree species including oak and maple. In 2019, the moth defoliated more than 580,000 hectares in Ontario alone. Despite some of the farms that were funded by A Tree for You were threatened by LDD, the farmers dedicated to supporting tree growth allowed them to overcome pest challenges.
Participant farmers demonstrated that they planted trees not only for the ecological benefits that trees provide for both agricultural production and surrounding landscape, but also in connection with their aspirational goals to address the global ecological crisis and the role farmers can play as stewards of the land.
The local team spend time with the beneficiaries and visit their planted parcels during the summer 2021.
One farmer shared how much they were inspired by this project “we imagine a wonderful forest that our grandchildren can look at and say: our ancestors did this”. Initially, they had the goal to establish a windbreak to protect their apple orchard from strong winds, but once the program began, they were further inspired to plant trees upon understanding the importance of addressing climate change and of trees’ potential to act as carbon sinks. Through the project, this farmer proceeded to plant a total of 2200 trees on different parts of their property (including the windbreak). Even more inspiring is the fact that this farmer is recommending this project to other farmers!
Another farmer has been reforesting their property since the early 1990s and explained that “Mother Earth is giving us so much, so this is one way of giving back” . This landholder’s property is helping to create biodiversity corridors in the agricultural landscape of Southern Ontario, which helps migrating species have homes and promotes further landscape diversity.
During the field visits it became evident that landholders’ commitment to planting trees was not only portrayed through their participation objectives, but also through their commitment to ensure the trees’ survival and growth.
Participant farmers engaged in mowing, weeding, watering, and tree wrapping in response to pest threats and even picking off LDD moths threatening the trees’ wellbeing.
Not surprisingly, the team observed healthy and strong trees during our field visits!
Following this year’s planting wave, the local team, will be monitoring tree survival after the trees’ first winter in the Spring of 2022 and at the end of their critical growth period in 2025.
