2, 6, 12, 16. What do these numbers represent? It represents how many microforests we have planted each year, starting with our two pilot forests in 2021. We have successfully and exponentially planted trees across the region for 4 years, bringing us to a whopping total of 36 microforests and 3,283 trees in the ground to this day. Our 5th year running the program will also be right after SWR completes its 15th year operating as an organization and we are so happy we get to celebrate these milestones. As we end this year, we want to reflect on this planting season and take note of where we are, where we have come from and what we plan to do moving into the new year.
Where did we plant?
This year we planted at 10 public schools, one of them being our first highschool! Southwood Secondary School has an ambitious Environment Club, led by teacher and outdoor enthusiast Christopher Giesler who spearheaded the project. Funded by Gore Mutual Insurance and the 2 Billion Trees program, 100 trees were planted at the school with the help of 20 volunteers from Gore Mutual, who also sponsored two other sites this Fall! We also got to involve the Environment Club full of passionate students, who helped us plant, water and mulch the trees and who will continue to care for them as they attend the school.
Photo: Southwood Secondary School, before and after planting (taken by teacher Christopher Giesler)
We planted the 3rd and 4th microforests to go in at Pfennings Organic Vegetable Farm, which took the form of fencerows in one of their larger growing fields. In one day, we saw over 30 Gore Mutual Insurance volunteers plant 200 trees! This goes to show that the energy and passion of our volunteers make this program happen, and we couldn’t achieve these amazing results without them.
Other sites we planted at include Farm Mutual Reinsurance, who planted their 2nd microforest ever on their property, Ayr Farmers Mutual who planted their 1st ever microforest on their property and Voisin Park, assisted by the City of Kitchener, where we expanded upon the existing memorial microforest planted in 2023.
Photos: YNCU at Oak Creek P.S. (top-left), Ayr Farmers Mutual (top-right), Kitchener Rangers at Oak Creek P.S. (bottom-left), and Grandbridge Energy at Cedar Creek P.S. (bottom-right).
Our final site was planted at the Anishnabeg Outreach Reconciliation Garden in Breslau on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, sponsored by first-time sponsor Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. So many groups came together for this day, and along with adding plants to the food forest we planted in 2023, volunteers also assisted in harvesting crops and braiding sweetgrass that will be included in their Spirit Bundles in the coming year. With the help of the generous folks at Home Depot and Scotts Canada Ltd, we had over 9 skids of mulch to spread over the entire site! TMMC, YNCU, Home Depot and many other community volunteers enjoyed their time planting and spreading mulch – in under 2 hours (a record time) it was all done. We then enjoyed a great BBQ and snacks from Home Depot, while watching the Breslau Fire Department who happened to be nearby, soak the entire food forest, quenching the thirst of over 150 trees.
Photo: Breslau Fire Department spray water over newly planted trees
All in all, we had a successful year of planting. We exceeded our goal of planting 15 forests, brought in new sponsors and volunteers, planted in new areas of the region and of course brought smiles to the communities who now have new trees that will provide so many future benefits, alongside fighting climate change.
If you are interested in participating in our Microforest Planting Program, we are currently planning for 2025. Our goal for 2025 is to plant 22 more forests across the region, and are always welcoming new partnerships and opportunities. Specific needs include land to plant on and corporate sponsorship.
Fill out this form to get involved! OR email microforests@sustainablewr.ca
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Photo: Children planting together at Cedar Creek P.S.
We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our sponsors and volunteers of 2024!
Oak Level Sponsors: Ages Foundation, Gore Mutual Insurance and 2 Billion Trees
Birch Level Sponsors: Ayr Farmer’s Mutual, Farm Mutual Re, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, University of Waterloo – School of Accounting and Finance and YNCU
Cedar Level Sponsors: AET Group, City of Cambridge (in-kind), City of Kitchener (in-kind), City of Waterloo (in-kind), Enova Power Corp (in-kind), EY Waterloo, Explore WR, Grandbridge Energy, Home Depot (in-kind), Mitsubishi Cambridge, Township of North Dumfries (in-kind) and UHAUL (in-kind).Volunteers: AET Group, Ayr Farmers Mutual, City of Kitchener, Enova Power, ExploreWR, EY, Farm Mutual Re, Gore Mutual Insurance, Grandbridge Energy, Home Depot, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, UWaterloo SAF students and YNCU