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Tree planting adds diversity to Sudbury forest

Under a colourful canopy of fall colours, dozens of volunteers descended on the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area Sept. 28 to plant trees and diversify the area’s vegetation.
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Forests Ontario has approved Conservation Sudbury to become a Planting Delivery Agency (PDA) under the 50 Million Tree Program. File photo
Under a colourful canopy of fall colours, dozens of volunteers descended on the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area Sept. 28 to plant trees and diversify the area’s vegetation.

The popular Sudbury hiking spot was the site of TD Tree Days, a morning tree-planting event sponsored by TD Canada Trust’s Friends of the Environment Foundation, during which volunteers ventured into the forest to plant 1,350 saplings. Another 1,650 saplings will be planted this week, for a total of 3,000 trees.

“Overall, for the last four years, we’ve planted 135,000 trees at over 170 different sites in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Luxembourg,” said Silvia Galloway, manager of financial services at TD’s Falconbridge branch. “This year, we’re looking at planting another 5,000 trees.”

In addition to Sudbury, Northern Ontario planting locations include Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay.

The forested area was enriched with three species on Sunday: yellow birch, whose golden-brown bark peels like that of its paler cousin; serviceberry, a fruit-bearing variety also known as Saskatoon berry; and wild raisin, whose red berries can be picked when ripe — if you can beat the birds to them.

When establishing the saplings, quality planting is favoured over quantity, emphasized Dr. Peter Beckett, a biology professor with Laurentian University.

“We are not going for numbers; we are going for quality planting,” Beckett said. “So it doesn’t matter whether you plant one tree or you plant 50 trees, they have to be in the right kind of site.”

Forest diversification can offer a multitude of benefits, he noted. Increasing the area’s flora helps strengthen the ecosystem by attracting different species of birds and wildlife, while boosting visitors’ enjoyment of the area.

But even after careful site selection and planting, it’s almost certain not all saplings will survive the winter, said Dr. Gerald Courtin, a retired Laurentian University biologist and founding member of Friends of Lake Laurentian.

Sudbury’s rocky terrain can prove challenging for saplings to take root, and each species has different requirements for successful propagation. Yellow birch, for example, needs a partially shaded area and won’t tolerate soil that’s too wet or too dry. Planters typically cultivate two or three saplings within a small area with the hope that at least one will take root.

“Somebody won’t make it for sure, but at least you have a chance of somebody making it,” Courtin said.

This isn’t the first time TD Canada Trust has been involved in the enhancement of the area. In 2013, the financial institution donated $5,000 toward a set of stairs that gives hikers access to one of the conservation area’s most traversed trails.

Denise Clark-Hooper, TD’s district vice-president, said environmental consideration forms one of the organization’s four pillars for corporate social responsibility. Employees and customers contribute time and finances to the foundation, which, along with tree planting, sponsors programs such as school composting, butterfly gardens and field trips that help educate children about environmental issues.

Clark-Hooper received her own lesson in environmental awareness a year ago after relocating to Sudbury from London, Ont.

“I had no idea we had such beautiful country up here; I thought we had to go west to the mountains,” she said. “I think differently now.”

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