Hello FCF Supporters!
Wow! We have had a very busy fall and we are excited to share everything we’ve been doing these last couple of months. As we reflect on this season’s close, we feel extremely grateful for our volunteers, funders, and partners for their support in making this all happen.
Five new Tiny Forests added to Ottawa
We started September off with a bang! We planted three Tiny Forests in Ottawa in partnership with EnviroCentre and Ottawa Community Housing. The local community came out to help us plant 538 trees, 447 shrubs, and 511 forbs across three properties totalling a 461 square metre area. Also in partnership with EnviroCentre, we planted a fourth Tiny Forest at York Street Public School with the help of the hardworking students! These four Tiny Forests were generously funded by the Josette Robertson and Joan Johnston Family Foundation.
Members of the University of Ottawa Outdoors Club also helped us plant a fifth Tiny Forest at our Base of Operations. It is generally accepted that in order to be a Tiny Forest, the area planted needs to be at least 4 metres wide. We decided to really put this requirement to the test, by making the plot 4 metres wide and 4 metres long. We jam packed over 25 different species into our “Tiniest Tiny Forest”!
New plantings in partnership with the National Capital Commission
In September, we partnered with the National Capital Commission and CIMA+ to plant 243 trees at a new site located in Parc du Lac Leamy. Our first planting with CIMA+ at Hogsback Park in 2022 was a great success, with an 81% survival rate! The CIMA+ team demonstrated a clear commitment to exceed that rate with this planting, by taking extra measures putting on tree guards and flagging all the trees before leaving for an easy inventory next year. We also had a 7 year old assistant join us, who we believe is going to be a future forestry specialist!
In October, we also added another site to Aviation Parkway, and planted 250 trees in partnership with the NCC, LCBO, and Tree Canada!
Other events this fall
National Tree Day
On September 20th, we took part in two events for National Tree Day. In the morning, we had 25 attendees join us in planting fruit trees and shrubs along our walking path at the Base of Operations. We were joined by members from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, Nuclear Promise X, Forest Therapy Ottawa, and of course, our devoted FCF volunteers.
Open NCC
On September 23rd, we were happy to “open” our Base of Operations (located at the public Just Food Community Farm) for this year’s Open NCC event! We hosted tours through the Red Barn Community Food Forest and presented alongside the NCC Forestry team on Tiny Forests and the Miyawaki Method.
Planting final trees before winter
We put out the call for support, and our FCF volunteers answered! Within a one week timeline, we were able to expand our current tree planting sites by adding 50 trees at Aviation Parkway, 25 trees at Hogsback Park, and 15 trees at Riverside – all as part of a Tree Canada urban afforestation project. These devoted volunteers also helped us with winterizing these sites by applying tree guards and giving the trees a final water before winter. Thank you SO much to all of the volunteers who came out to help, your work does not go unnoticed!
Annual General Meeting
On November 2nd we welcomed many of our project partners to our Annual General Meeting. We celebrated the launch of our walking path and then reflected on this past year while we warmed up inside! We have seen tremendous growth since we launched in 2020, and we are so grateful for the time and support that has been invested in us.
Winterizing at our Base of Operations
As we start to see the first snowflakes hit the ground, we are finishing the final touches in winterizing at our Base of Operations. We have put tree guards on all of the trees, buried our remaining tree stock in trenches to keep them warm for winter, and have finished building our greenhouse!
Thank you for a great season!
View our year in review on our dashboard!
Want to give the gift of afforestation for the Holidays?
Do you know someone who loves trees? Why not give them the gift of afforestation!? Make a donation in their name now, or come out to the Local Flavours Holiday Market on December 9th and 10th from 11 am to 2 pm at the Just Food Community Farm and purchase one of our gift sets. You can also become a monthly supporter through CanadaHelps. By making a donation towards FCF’s afforestation efforts, you will be supporting the development and execution of various tree planting projects and our organizational growth.