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It was a happy 30th anniversary for 10,000 Trees!

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Heartfelt appreciation is extended to all of those who helped us celebrate our 30th Anniversary on April 28th, 2019. Many people contributed in many different ways to make it a special and successful celebration.

Firstly, Mother Nature created ideal spring growing conditions (wet and cool) for the new trees, shrubs and wildflowers that over 2,000 volunteers planted under the expert guidance of our Planting Managers. Thank you all for coming out to help restore 6.3 acres of habitat. You have made a significant difference.

We were honoured to have Elder Garry Sault from the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations to set the tone of the significance of the event through a traditional smudging ceremony.

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Two guest speakers at the outdoor stage offered personal testimonials on the historical perspective of the event. Lorne Smith, a local farmer and historian, spoke of how his family use to pasture their cows on the land on which we were planting. The founder of the 10,000 Trees organization addressed the “early years”. Mayor Scarpetti and Rachel Wong of TD Friends of the Environment fondly spoke about our partnerships and accomplishments over the years. Chris Evans and Friends were also back performing their original 10,000 Trees song with a group of young musicians. Two large ceremonial trees were planted and scrumptious cake was served to formally commemorate the event.

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A lively street festival atmosphere was created with the very popular BBQ by Enbridge, Starbucks’ refreshments, the Water On Wheels Truck and the 13 different educational booths that formed “Discovery Alley.” We hope you got the chance to do things like: taste-test heart nuts at the Society of Ontario Nut Growers (SONG) booth; shake hands with the Rouge Park Ranger; try your hand at planting beans and playing aboriginal games; observe Emerald Ash Bore damage, play a nature trivia game to win a tattoo, and learn more about bee-keeping, backyard tree planting programs, invasive species, ticks, native plants, the endangered Redside Dace minnow, forest bathing, the role of the City of Markham Forestry Department etc. We also hope you enjoyed learning about bare root plant stock through the performances put on by the drama teams.

This year’s event was particularly special to a small group of Secondary Students from Bendale Institute who earned their Tree Planting Certificate as part of their SHSM Program, made possible through a partnership with Landscape Ontario.

We are grateful to the army of volunteers who rally on the day of, in the few days before and few weeks prior to the event. Together they make it all happen safely and successfully. This collaborative volunteer group and our sponsors have made it possible to organize an admired and awesome public planting event for the last 30 years. 
 

Gary James, our volunteer event photographer, trampled through the thick mud and took lots of pictures! Please check out our gallery of photos for this year’s event, as well as those from previous years.

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