*News* – ACER

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That’s a Wrap! Celebrating Successful Completion of the GLLAF Tree Planting Initiative in the Ganaraska Watershed!

On October 18th, 2024 ACER came together with organisers, municipal officials, volunteers and local students for an activity-packed celebration marking the successful completion of ACER’s 2023 GLLAF Ganaraska Tree Planting and Caring For Trees Initiative. During this year-long initiative, completed in partnership with the Ganaraska Conservation Authority, Sustainable Cobourg, the

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Another Successful AGM!

On Sunday, June 9, ACER held its annual general meeting of members. The meeting was virtual with many people, both members and guests, in attendance. The meeting kicked off informally with presentations by Alice Casselman, ACER Founder and President, Sadia Butt, ACER Program Manager, Jonathan Brown, GIS Coordinator for Sustainable

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ACER’s Collaboration with the BEA’s 2023-2024 Rooted in Hope Initiative

ACER is pleased to announce the completion of our collaboration with the Brampton Environmental Alliance and their 2023-2024 Rooted in Hope initiative! ACER’s role in this initiative was leading training on tree monitoring and training on environmental outreach and educational leadership. The tree monitoring training included how to use tree

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Announcing our updated Mission and Vision statements!

May 28, 2024: ACER is pleased to announce our updated Mission and Vision Statements, revised earlier this year to reflect our current priorities and focus as we continue our work in the community to support local climate action in response to global climate change.

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Announcing our New Seniors Measure UP Webinar Series!

Join us this February and March for a special live webinar series designed especially for seniors as part of our Seniors Measure UP program, funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program (Government of Canada). See below for details! All are welcome to attend. If you are interested please fill

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Another ACER Success Story: 1000+ Trees Planted in the Ganaraska River Watershed!

January 2024: ACER is excited to announce completion of all tree plantings in the Ganaraska River Watershed for the provincially funded Great Lakes Local Action Fund (GLLAF) project that kicked off last November at Sylvan Glen Conservation Area. This region was chosen for this project because it has many streams

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A Tree Planted for Alice

After 35 years of planting trees with schools and communities across Ontario, ACER founder and President Alice Casselman was celebrated this past August with a maple tree planted in her honour at Mississauga’s Fleetwood Park. At the ceremony, Mississauga City Councillors Stephen Dasko (Ward 1) and Chris Fonseca (Ward 3)

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ACER AGM 2023 – Livestream

AGM 2023 Livestream Find out more about ACER’s successes in 2022 and the exciting plans for 2023! Click below to view our live-streamed presentation that kicked-off the 2023 Annual General Meeting on Sunday June 11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcYItHJYuoM&t=316s

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Announcing ACER’s New Exploring the Outdoors Resource Collection!

ACER is very excited to launch our new “Exploring the Outdoors” resource collection, starting with our Spring Discovery Walk and our Maple, Forsythia and Dandelion Activity Suites. Click here to look inside, and then get outdoors!

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ACER Newsletter – Fall/Winter 2022

Well, we made it through another amazing year despite the persistence of COVID-19! Under the pandemic’s radar, ACER managed to plant P4C tree suites in three schoolyards; complete our federally funded Canadian Healthy Communities Initiative project in Mississauga and launch our newest Riparian Rangers initiative in the Ganaraska River watershed,

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Looking for ways to donate your Canada Climate Action Incentive payment?

Support ACER! Your special donation to ACER’s new Climate Action Incentive “Donate Back” fund will help ACER continue to support science-based climate action in our communities. ACER plants and cares for trees. Donate Today, for Climate’s Sake!

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ACER Awarded Great Lakes Local Action Fund Grant – November 2022

November, 2022: ACER is excited to announce our latest Riparian Rangers initiative in the Ganaraska region funded by the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, kicked off on November 12 at the Sylvan Glen Conservation Area east of Toronto. During this one-year initiative ACER will take the lead working with the Ganaraska

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Celebrating 1000 trees planted in Mississauga! Fleetwood Park, Oct. 15, 2022

On October 15, 2022, ACER celebrated 1000 trees planted in Mississauga Wards 1, 3 and 7, in collaboration with communities and the City of Mississauga, funded by the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative. Left to right in the photo:Chris Fonseca, Ward 3 CouncillorStephen Dasko, Ward 1 CouncillorAlice Casselman, ACER FounderLinda Casselman,

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ACER at 35: Foreign textbooks to native trees—one Canadian teacher’s solution to a classroom dilemma and ACER’s origin story

Through much of the 20th century, Canadian children grew up learning about the “firsts” of American and European science and industry—things like the cotton gin, pasteurization, electric motor, the light bulb, or the assembly line. While most baby boomers probably knew about the Canadian development of insulin, time zones, and

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ACER’s Past, Present and Future – 2022 AGM

View the livestream of the “ACER’s Past-Present-Future” presentation that kicked off ACER’s 2022 Annual General Meeting, held virtually on Sunday, June 26th.

Tree Planting in Mississauga 10/16/21

This Saturday 10/16 at 10 AM, ACER is hosting a tree planting event at Applewood Heights Park in Mississauga! We’ll provide the materials, and COVID safety protocols will be in effect. RSVP today! This event is made possible by the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative grant and our partner, the City

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Ontario’s Own Heritage Red Oak

Written by ACER executive board member Elizabeth MacLean, with a tree planting guide by ACER founding president Alice Casselman. Ontario has its own celebrated oak tree. Known as the Heritage Red Oak, the giant tree stands near the edge of the Humber River, in the yard of a house on

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Forge Ahead with TreeTrackers.ca

Written by ACER executive board member Elizabeth MacLean. “The sky’s the limit,” said Fazal Khan in an August on-line preview presentation of the TreeTrackers.ca website to ACER Board members and friends. He was describing the potential of both the website and its creators, a team of high-school and university students hired by

ACER AGM Presents Alumni and Reopens 2021

On June 13, just as COVID-19 restrictions reopened across Ontario ACER, the Association for Canadian Educational Resources, held its Annual General Meeting. The virtual meeting was simulcast on YouTube to a Canada-wide audience of members, Canada Summer Jobs interns, scientists and agency collaborators. Video keynotes from two ACER interns who found career jobs

ACER’s 2021 AGM Livestream

Click below to view the livestream of our 2021 Annual General Meeting that was held on Sunday, June 13th, 2021:

ACER Alumni: Tyler Orsulak

Part four of ACER’s Where Are They Now? series, a celebration of our wonderful former employees, interns, volunteers, and other folks who have made our work possible. Written by ACER executive board member Elizabeth MacLean. Tyler Orsulak’s career path is looking a little straighter now — diverse strands are weaving together

ACER Alumni: Julia Bilas

Part three of ACER’s Where Are They Now? series, a celebration of our wonderful former employees, interns, volunteers, and other folks who have made our work possible. Written by ACER executive board member Elizabeth MacLean. Julia Bilas says she always leaned toward the sciences — she grew up helping her mother

Closed We are Hiring Summer Interns

** Update: May 21, 2021 — Internship positions have now been filled. Thank you for your interest! ** ACER (Association for Canadian Educational Resources) is excited to open our application process for summer interns. Positions are available in the Region of Peel. ACER’s research and activities contribute to reaching UN

Spring Flowers: Maple Suite

With spring upon us, it’s the perfect time to explore our Spring Flowers activity suites! Start with our newest addition: the maple. Check out our activities for more ways to engage the outdoors.

ACER Alumni: Daniel Kim

Part two of ACER’s Where Are They Now? series, a celebration of our wonderful former employees, interns, volunteers, and other folks who have made our work possible. Written by ACER executive board member Elizabeth MacLean. It’s more than 10,000 km from his birthplace in Seoul, South Korea to the office in

ACER Alumni: Jason Weiler

Part one of ACER’s Where Are They Now? series, a celebration of our wonderful former employees, interns, volunteers, and other folks who have made our work possible. Written by ACER executive board member Elizabeth MacLean. Jason Weiler loves his work as Parks Ecologist in Calgary, where his current project is

Save Toronto’s Historic Red Oak

One of Toronto’s oldest tree needs our help. The Red Oak has stood for at least 250 years, if not longer. It is formally recognized by Forest Ontario’s Heritage Tree program. In September 2019, a commemorative plaque was placed next to the tree that reads as follows: “The large red

ACER Featured in Toronto.com Article on Outdoor Education

Andrew Palamarchuk featured ACER in an article about outdoor education in North York during COVID-19. Check out a short excerpt below: Alice Casselman, a retired science teacher and founding president of the Association of Canadian Educational Resources (ACER), said outdoor educators have now been given “a new lease on life.”

ACER Thanks Knightsbridge Residents for Welcoming Project Crossroads Trees

ACER thanks Knightsbridge residents for welcoming Project Crossroads trees, to contribute much-needed cooling shade and sustained climate change research into areas hardest-hit by COVID-19 pandemic. On October 29, the final of four community tree plantings was installed with local volunteers on the grounds of Peel Living social housing. Adhering to

Fantastic fall planting at Folkstone Park in a SNAP

On October 17 at Folkstone Park and October 24 at Knightsbridge Kings Cross apartments, local residents in Bramalea will be supported in tree planting for climate change research. “These locations sit in low tree canopy areas, where many residents are really hurting as a result of the COVID pandemic,” says Alice

ACER Lifts Knightsbridge Wellbeing with Project Crossroads for Thanksgiving

On October 7, ACER (Association for Canadian Educational Resources) held its inaugural installation of Project Crossroads community tree planting event, for climate change research. Knightsbridge residents of diverse ages and backgrounds were drawn from schools, faith, and community organizations. “We braced against stormy weather today and difficult times over the past 18

Project Crossroads Volunteers Needed

We need your help! ACER is hosting Project Crossroads, a series of tree planting events in Brampton made possible with funding from the Arbor Day Foundation.We’re looking for volunteers to join us in Bramalea. We’ve created and field tested COVID-19 planting protocols, which will allows us to beautify the community

ACER Canada Collaborates with Bramalea SNAP Community Planting to Celebrate 1-Year Launch of Project Crossroads

“I am very big on birthdays,” says Alice Casselman, Founder and President of the Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER). The one-year celebration of the Project Crossroads urban reforestation initiative kicks off with the announcement of a trifecta of community tree plantings in Bramalea Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan (SNAP) urban revitalization areas, in

ACER: Ready for Back-to-School, with COVID Protocol and Distance Learning Programs

September 2020 – ACER is ready and waiting for back-to-school programs to kick in! In addition to pre-scheduled community tree planting activities and volunteer opportunities for monitoring and maintenance of established school yard tree sites, ACER offers resources on-line at www.acer-acre.ca for distance learning units in Ecology 101 and biology, as well as

ACER Reopens in Stage 3 — Field Test of COVID-19 Planting Protocol

August 2020 – on August 6, within one week of Stage 3 reopening for Peel Region that lifted restrictions on group gatherings, nearly 50 reforestation experts, conservation staff and community volunteers gathered at Fleetwood Park in Mississauga, to field test a COVID protocol for community tree planting. “Pinch me!” said

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ACER Annual General Meeting 2020

Spring Flowers Activities

Spring 2020: Spring has sprung, and many flowers are in bloom! While we continue to practice physical distancing to protect ourselves and our neighbours in these strange times, take a digital stroll through the blossoms. Explore our Spring Flowers activities today, perfect for distance learning. Dandelion Suite Crab Apple Suite

ACER AGM – June 9, 2019

Join us for Are You Ready? – Impacts of Climate Change in Ontario, a free event featuring climate science experts Heather Auld and Don MacIver. June 9, 2019 at 2 PM Centre for Urban Ecology, Humber College North Campus 205 Humber College Boulevard RSVP today! Be sure to arrive early

Riparian Rangers Webinar Video

On December 7, 2018, ACER hosted a webinar through Conservation Ontario. Representatives from three conservation authorities shared their experiences with our tree planting program, Riparian Rangers. Our speakers were Stephanie Smith from Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Gina Pannunzio from Essex Region Conservation Authority, and Patricia Lowe from Central Lake Ontario

Citizen Scientists Provide Critical Data

On the eve of the Summit of the Americas Climate Change Conference being held in Toronto from July 7th to July 9th, the Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) released its data on the amount of carbon sequestered by its Humber Arboretum Go-Global Plot, one of its 19 monitoring plots

ACER presents at Cabbagetown reLEAF event

ACER presented last night at Cabbagetown reLEAF’s Community Meeting: Cabbagetown Urban Forest Management Plan. The Urban Forest Management Plan was developed by U of T forestry students. ACER presented a talk on how to engage community in improving Cabbagetown’s urban forest. Sadia Butt, a PhD Candidate at U of T

Join us in celebration at the Humber Arboretum!

Come join Climate’s Sake in launching our TreeCaching trail at the Humber Arboretum! The celebration will be February 3, 2015 at 1:00pm. Come scan tagged trees, identify, learn interesting facts about species, and discover scientific data related to each specific tree. For more information or to RSVP for

ACER Attends 2015 COEO Make Peace With Winter Conference

This weekend ACER attended the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario (COEO) Make Peace With Winter Conference! We presented a “Trees in Winter” workshop, teaching participants how to identify trees based on silhouettes and bark, how to measure tree growth and about our TreeCaching program. Examining a tree silhouette Image 1

ACER in article by Sadia Butt, PhD Candidate at U of T

ACER is featured in this article by Sadia Butt, a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Forestry at U of Toronto on How can Different ways of knowing – and producing knowledge – be useful for understanding and managing urban ecosystems? http://cabbagetownreleaf.typepad.com/urbanforest/2014/12/how-can-different-ways-of-knowingand-of-producing-knowledgebe-useful-for-understanding-and-managing-.html

Happy Holidays from ACER!

ACER hopes you all have a happy holiday season! View our newsletter for the latest news: http://eepurl.com/-A2y5

Tracking for Success at St. Igantius Jesuit Centre in Guelph

On December 12th, 2014, the students at St. Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph measured trees planted this past spring to collect the first growth measurements for their long-term tree monitoring data. This site is now a part of ACER’s Tracking for Success program, where 10% of each species is monitored

P4C Tree Remeasuring at Assumption Catholic E.S.

ACER volunteers and the Grade 3/4 students remeasured Assumption Catholic E.S.’s P4C plot. The trees look very large for their age- the school was built on land that was previously a peach farm. Students learnt how to measure root collar diameter, crown width and diameter at 1.3 m. See photo

P4C Tree Remeasuring at Quaker Road P.S.

ACER staff and volunteers measured Quaker Road P.S.’s P4C plot. It was a windy day (wind gust speed reached up to 91 km/hr!). The trees were browsed, but looked healthy. See photo gallery below for photos from 2011-2014. Planting Day 2011 Image 1 of 21

P4C Tree Remeasuring at Robert Bateman High School

The P4C trees were remeasured by ACER staff and volunteers at Robert Bateman High School in Burlington, ON. The P4C site was planted in 2008. See the photo gallery below for photos from 2008-2014. Planting Day 2008 Image 1 of 28

P4C Tree Remeasuring at West Credit S.S.

Thanks to the students at West Credit S.S. in Mississauga for measuring their trees that were planted in 2011. The trees are mostly healthy but were browsed (eaten by animals) near the root collar. The students watched our training videos and then took growth measurements such as root collar diameter,

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