BY TREES FOR LIFE    
 

        
The Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign was inspired by the Canadians who gave the highway its name: those who served in the Canadian Armed Forces, plus Silver Cross Mothers, families, and friends. We are delighted to announce that the world’s largest living legacy is now complete with the recent planting of our two millionth tree. A special thank-you goes to Landscape Ontario and its member nurseries, growers and planters; without their support this achievement would not have been possible.

With a genuine concern for climate change, we knew we had to continue this initiative to connect groups with shared values to plant trees. This led to the next chapter of our story, which we are now writing through Trees for Life (TFL).

Trees for Life’s primary objective is to mobilize and enhance the capacity of community-based tree and shrub planting initiatives in Canada’s more populated communities. We support like-minded organizations through partner outreach and advocacy, funding and fundraising tools, and access to expertise, resources, and education. The importance of including private landowners in the urban green process cannot be overstated so Trees for Life works with several community-led organizations to achieve leafy canopy goals.

MPP David Piccini, federal Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan, Mark Cullen and former Canadian Govenor General David Johnston celebrated the completion of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign at Fork York in Toronto, Ont. on Nov. 2, 2022.

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Environment Hamilton and the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club are recipients of funding from Trees for Life.  These funds help them to provide trees at no cost to Hamilton residents through their Trees Please program. The program was created to improve Hamilton’s overall air quality and urban forest health. The trees will add shade throughout the city for the summer months and help them to achieve their leafy canopy coverage goal of 40 per cent. “Encouraging private landowners to plant trees on their property is integral to helping Hamilton achieve its canopy goal,” said Jen Baker, Land Trust Manager, Hamilton Naturalists’ Club.“ In 2022, the Trees Please program had another successful year, getting 700 trees in the ground, bringing the total number of trees to over 3,500 since the program’s inception.”

Another TFL partner doing great work in urban spaces by engaging private landowners is LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests).

In 1996, Janet McKay founded LEAF and has planted tens of thousands of urban-based native trees and shrubs since then. The goal of LEAF is to work at the community level to improve the urban forest, both with homeowners and with larger plantings on municipal and private lands. Through their enthusiasm, leadership, intelligence and tireless energy, Janet and her LEAF staffers and volunteers have mobilized thousands of community members in Toronto and beyond to plant and care for their trees.

In partnership with several municipalities in York and Durham Regions, LEAF hosted a multitude of planting events in 2022. With the help of almost 700 volunteers and community members, well over 3,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted and mulched on public lands this year.

A stand-out quality of LEAF is their education and awareness programs, which turn homeowners into tree champions, volunteers, and community leaders who pay it forward with their knowledge and energy, and their robust commitment to the urban forest canopy. 

Trees for Life partner LEAF organized a tree planting event at Budweth park in King City, Ont. in September 2022.

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Integral to the success of any tree-planting effort is good quality tree stock. We are fortunate to work with several growers and nursery partners who share our vision.

One such nursery partner is St. Williams Nursery and Ecology Centre. They specialize in growing source-identified Ontario native plants specifically to help support the conservation of Ontario’s natural biodiversity.

St. Williams sees a future where the health of our economies, cultures, and natural environments co-exist in a sustainable and mutually beneficial way. “People and nature thriving together has been and will always be a big inspiration for our business. That’s why we work with Trees for Life,” said Allan Arthur, President, and Sr. Ecologist. “They are making real and lasting change by supporting community-led tree planting groups to get trees in the ground while reinforcing the importance of native species to help them build back their local tree canopies and ecosystems. They are part of the solution, as habitat loss can only be reversed by many people collectively taking action.” 

Pineneedle Farms, another Trees for Life partner, is run by a third-generation grower specializing in native deciduous and evergreen tree species seedling stock. “We have always supported efforts to protect the environment and to be a part of something bigger than ourselves,” said Paul Richardson, owner. “We are pleased to be included in the 2 Billion Trees program through our partnership with Trees for Life. Working with David [Turnbull] and the Trees for Life team has streamlined the process. We are pleased to be a leading supplier of seedlings to urban and near-urban project partners of TFL. We are looking forward to continuing to help green up municipalities throughout Ontario and beyond over the coming years.” 

While the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign is finished, we were inspired by the groundswell of support we saw for honouring heroes with living tributes. This motivated Trees for Life to launch a Trees for Heroes program. Through this campaign, we will continue to plant trees to honour many kinds of heroes in our lives: frontline, first responder and health workers, teachers, those we lost to COVID, and the people who make Canada a better place for all. The only thing better than planting a tree is planting a tree that is dedicated to someone special.


Our first Hero Grove planting was completed this fall at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, honouring front line health workers who have bravely led us through the pandemic and who work tirelessly for our health and well-being. Located in the heart of Toronto, this event added 600 new trees to the health facility’s grounds to be enjoyed by patients and staff. We also provided trees in honour of some of those who lost their lives to COVID at a special memorial at Beechwood Cemetery, Canada’s National Cemetery in Ottawa.

Trees are the lungs of the planet, so it is fitting that we are planting them to honour those who have fought against an illness that is known to attack our respiratory system.

Trees for Life facilitates planting native trees to fight climate change, support biodiversity for future generations, and help to restore nature in all its complexity and beauty.  We have to work together to get this done for them. This is why we will continue asking our Landscape Ontario friends for help. If you are a horticultural trade professional that can spare a crew for a day or two to come out and help us or our partners plant trees, provide soil, compost, or a load of mulch, or if you can donate trees because you’re a grower or you have an of excess inventory, we would welcome your participation.

Please visit TreesforLife.ca for more information.