Today is National Arbor Day down in the States, and with a lot of good ol' fashioned Google researching, I've found that Ontario's "Arbor Week" runs from today to the first Sunday in May (the 7th). Get out there and plant some trees, if you are so inclined. Trees are nice to look at, help clean the air, and provide nice shade in the summer, helping to offset the Urban Heat Island Effect.
(The above photo is, I believe, Moore Park Ravine, a cool branch of the Lower Don Valley trail system. If you ride through this I recommend you do it on a mountain bike. Gravity makes you go very fast (if you start from Mt. Pleasant Cemetary) and it's sometimes rough and muddy. Tons of fun, though!)
I was recently in Starbucks (which I really don't like except for the addicitive Frappacinos...), and they had a poster letting people know about the City of Toronto's Tree Planting Events tomorrow. Say what you want about Starbucks (ie. big American chain of blandness, etc., etc.), here in the city they don't have parking lots, drive throughs, and actually get people to come together on a human scale and partake in their neighbourhoods.
On a personal note, I'm trying to find out who owns the lot on the southeast corner of Sherbourne and Gerrard. It used to be a gas station, I think, but is now just an empty lot where some wild plants grow. I'm thinking of planting a small tree somewhere on the property in the next couple of weeks (although someone comes and mows the lot twice a year, it seems...), and it is a ripe spot for some adhoc "guerrilla gardening", by any Torontonians... not just the official guerrilla gardening group.More Toronto Tree Resources:
LEAF Toronto - not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection and improvement of Toronto's urban forest. Has great programs like offering native trees and shrubs to Torontonians at a subsidized cost.
Evergreen.ca - aims to bring communities and nature together for the benefit of both. They engage people in creating and sustaining healthy, dynamic outdoor spaces - in our schools, our communities and our homes.
Tree Canada - provides education, technical assistance, resources and financial support through working partnerships to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in an effort to help reduce the harmful effects of carbon dioxide emissions.
Discuss this topic and a lot more on the BikingToronto Forum
