On June 15th, FCF hosted volunteers from Aviva Canada at our Base of Operations for a morning of tree planting and tree care activities! The event was supported by Tree Canada’s Partners in Planting program. As Tree Canada’s National Capital Region Forestry Specialist, FCF helped organize a planting day for Aviva Canada staff
The day was a great success! With the help of the volunteers, we were able to make great progress on various projects including a Tiny Forest project, building a seating circle for reflection at the Birch Path Healing Forest, and experimenting with innovative ways to afforest water-logged areas.
The group potted forbs and tree seedlings to add to the several thousand of our seedlings that we are tending destined for fall plantings. Their final destination sites include 4 Tiny Forests at Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) and public school properties. These Tiny Forests will be planted in urban areas using the Miyawaki method of Afforestation which should create a ‘100-year-old forest’ in less than a 25 year period.
FCF is happy to help the Birch Path Healing Forest build a Medicine Wheel Seating Circle. Birch Path Healing Forest is a new member of the National Healing Forests initiative. The seating circle aims to create an accessible space to promote healing, meditation, and sharing. It offers a space to reflect on the tragic past and reconcile the vision of our future communities in light of Canada’s Residential School legacy. The final product will be a seating area with cedar benches oriented to all 4 directions, each bench with a matching garden bed representing a Medicine Wheel. The gardens will have medicinal and culturally significant plants. Thank you to the Aviva Canada volunteers who helped us with the essential task of augmenting the garden beds with leaf mulch, organic matter and soil to prepare them for fall planting.
Additionally, the soil at our Base of Operations is of dense clay that can be very challenging to plant in. In early spring, parts of our base are flooded with standing water as the water cannot penetrate the dense soil, this leads to vast areas that cannot be planted in. With the Aviva Canada volunteers, we trialled an experiment to prevent the accumulation of standing water by planting 49 Arrowwood trees that would wick up the water. We hope to see the results next spring. If the results are favourable, we will use this method further at our Base of Operations to open more areas for planting.
