What is your mission?

We work to achieve our mission through a variety of programs, including park naturalizations, schoolyard greenings, residential planting programs, seedling growing and giveaways, community outreach, and environmental education initiatives. Together, these programs benefit thousands of Londoners each year. 

Thanks to the strong support we enjoy from our community, since our founding, we have grown to become London’s largest environmental not-for-profit organization, with over 450 projects completed to date. In 2021 alone, we led or participated in 172 different events and planting projects in our community, and we’ve just celebrated hitting the 500,000 mark in the Million Tree Challenge. 

Most Londoners know us for our hugely popular tree giveaways, through which Londoners can take home up to two trees per household for free! We hold these several times throughout the year, and all of the information is on the events listing on our website.

But we’re so much more than that!

ReForest London is leading the way on environmental and sustainability action with the development of the Westminster Ponds Centre—an innovative hub that will foster collaboration within the environmental sector and deliver quality programming to thousands of Londoners. 

What’s the process for getting trees from seed to canopy?

The process from seed to canopy is a fascinating one, and it’s through our Seed Hub program that ReForest London participates in this process. The Seed Hub is a volunteer-driven program focused on the ethical collecting and growing of seeds from our native trees and shrubs. 

Seed collection occurs when the seeds ripen. Seeds of different species mature at different times of the year. We watch not only the trees but also the animals who rely on the seeds, which are a great indicator that seeds are ready to collect. Only a small amount of seed is needed and collected for planting allowing the animals and birds to continue to eat and stash away the bulk of the harvest.

Partnering with local nurseries and greenhouses throughout London, the Seed Hub plants seeds in educational workshops. These seedlings are a great way to help increase the number and diversity of trees given back to our community. Sometimes seedlings are grown to support ReForest London’s naturalization plantings.

Seeds are planted directly into parks and naturalization projects, in groupings, or at random intervals. This mimics natural distribution by wind or local wildlife, helps encourage natural regeneration in these areas, and creates the best chances for seed survivability.

We also source thousands of trees every year from Southwestern Ontario nurseries, who grow native trees that we use for both naturalization projects and our famous tree giveaways.

Why are trees so important in urban areas?

Urban forests have a number of positive impacts on individuals. Research has shown that having access to nature in an urban setting promotes mental well-being and encourages physical activity. Urban forests also allow for people with transportation limitations to access nature; not having to travel far from home means that more people can enjoy nature. Urban forests also reduce air pollution, keep temperatures more regulated during the summer, help with flood mitigation, and protect habitats of local wildlife. Homeowners and renters alike also benefit from trees; neighbourhoods with high canopy coverage maintain higher property values and the presence of trees even lowers heating and cooling costs.

Why is reforestation important in racialized/marginalized communities?

Statistics consistently show that racialized and marginalized communities have the lowest canopy coverage in urban settings. Reforestation is important to those specific areas because of the positive impact urban forests have on quality of life and health for individuals. Focusing on increasing canopy coverage in these areas is at the forefront of ReForest London and its partners’ planning, including the City of London.  

How can people get involved in tree planting? What kind of skills or knowledge do people need to help out?

ReForest London has a number of ways for people to get involved in tree planting. Throughout our spring and fall planting seasons, we have multiple plantings available for the public to participate in. These can take place everywhere from public parks to privately owned land. All of our events and volunteer opportunities are listed on our website: https://www.reforestlondon.ca/events/

There are plenty of opportunities for people to get involved in the ecological protection of London and its surrounding area that go beyond tree planting. For more information, and to sign up to be a volunteer, visit https://www.reforestlondon.ca/volunteer-application-form/

Anyone can volunteer! There is no need to have specialized knowledge or skills before you come to your first planting with us. Our incredible team will walk you through what to do and how to do it. 

ReForest London is truly on the cutting edge of environment and sustainability in Southwestern Ontario. We have loads of programs to help get trees planted on all types of lands, in every corner of the Forest City. We encourage everyone reading this to join us in making London more liveable and green. 

Everyone can play a part, no matter where they live!