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
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
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
“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
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
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
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
We’re looking for volunteers to join Team ACER this summer! We have opportunities available for a wide variety of skillsets. Whether you prefer going out in the field or working from home, you can engage in local action that leads to a global impact. View Volunteer Opportunities
Our University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) intern Julia Bilas has written a report on the importance of trees in the GTA. Julia compared benchmark and more recent measurements from the University of Toronto Mississauga campus, five Mississauga schools and two Brampton schools to see if some species were more successful
2019 has been a fantastic year for ACER. We worked with new partners at the Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT), Parkdale Intercultural Association (PIA), and Working Women Community Centre (WWCC) to teach people how to plant and measure trees. We also planted at Rowntree Mills Park with TRCA and
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
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
2018 is coming to a close, and the last few days of the year are ideal for reflection. This has been a fantastic year for ACER — new partners, exciting opportunities, and strengthened connections. Take a look at what we’ve been working on in our latest newsletter: ACER’s Fall/Winter 2018 Newsletter
This summer ACER will have 7 interns from Sheridan College; Sneha Gaddipati, Navpreet Kaur, Sandeep Kaur, Asma Khurram, Kartik Makhwana, Mamata Na, and Milan Suther. These interns will continue inventories at two Sheridan College, Davis and Trafalgar campuses. The inventory at the Sheridan College Davis campus was started by previous
This year ACER received 4 grants from the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund (GLGCF). We are working with Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA), Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA), and Raisin Region Conservation Authority (RRCA). Each project involves planting a 1000 trees and shrubs with
There are 7 new Planting for Change (P4C) schools in spring and fall of 2017. TD FEF funded the projects, which brought schools and their wider communities together to create mini-climate change outdoor classrooms/labs. The school plants 61 native trees and shrubs and monitors five different indicator species each year
This year ACER received 3 grants from the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund (GLGCF). We worked with Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA), Quinte Conservation Authority, and Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA). These projects each involved planting a 1000 trees and shrubs in the spring and fall of 2017 with
ACER developed the Citizen Science (CSI) program with funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). TD Friend of the Environment Fund funded the implementation of this project. In spring and fall of 2017, CSI was launched at 4 Planting for Change (P4C) schools; John William Boich Public School, Humberview Secondary
City of Mississauga Serson Park Planting and Monitoring On September 23rd, 2017 the City of Mississauga organized a planting at Serson Park in Mississauga for National Forest Week. ACER taught volunteers how to measure 10% of the trees and shrubs being planted. Community Volunteers planted 250 trees and shrubs. ACER
This summer ACER the interns from Sheridan College were Murat Oguzsimsaroglu, Souvik Banerjee, Faria Malik, and Kanna Sivakumar. The University of Toronto Scarborough intern was Bahy Salah. These interns did tree inventories at two Sheridan College campuses. They continued the inventory at the Sheridan College Davis campus started by previous
Join the City of Mississauga and partners at the annual Earth Day tree planting event on Saturday, April 22 at 9:30 a.m. This year, to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday and to kick off the tree planting program for 2017, 150 trees will be planted in each of Mississauga’s 11 wards.
Riparian Rangers ACER worked on three Riparian Rangers projects in 2016; Riparian Rangers Ausable Bayfield, Riparian Rangers rare, Riparian Rangers Lake Simcoe. Planting trees and shrubs along riparian zones can increase bank stability, slow the flow of water to the watercourse which leads to increased infiltration and less erosion. Decreased
To RSVP for this workshop, click here.
The conditions that favour the spread of wildfires, increased temperatures and frequent droughts, are two of the biggest symptoms of climate change. Consistent with the effects of our changing climate, many studies have shown that area burned by wildfires has been increasing over the last four decades, despite improvements in
2015 marks the 400th anniversary of Étienne Brûlé’s expedition with the Wendat-Huron from Orillia to Lake Ontario along the Toronto Carrying Place Trail. ACER is delighted to be collaborating with a variety of organizations to bring the history of Brûlé’s expedition to life during the second week in September. A
The Red Oak of Weston is one of the oldest trees in the city. Its leaves have cast shade on passersby as early as the late 18th century. “Back then, it sat near the Carrying Place Trail,” said the Toronto Star in an article about the tree in May, “an
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 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
ACER presented a workshop and had a display table at the Seedy Saturday event held at the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga. The workshop introduced the audience to ACER’s TreeCaching program and provided tips on how to identify trees in winter. A total of 20 vendors and ENGOs were present at
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
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 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
ACER hopes you all have a happy holiday season! View our newsletter for the latest news: http://eepurl.com/-A2y5
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
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
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
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
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,
Thank you again to all those who volunteered their time to plant, monitor, and restore riparian areas throughout Mississauga. The data, photos, and stories from the planting and monitoring days are now available on the Riparian Rangers web page.
16 students from City School in Toronto completed the Riparian Rangers program at Wildwood Park (Area D 3). Students planted and monitored 21 trees and shrubs, pulled buckthorn and garlic mustard (invasive species) and removed litter from the area. Thank you to all the students hard work and for being
Thanks to all who came to our 2nd Community Mapping Workshop, held at the Fort Erie Conservation Clubhouse in Stevensville, ON. Participants identified areas of ecological concern in the Niagara region. Groups were formed for specific areas in the Niagara region so that each group could review maps provided by
On Nov. 6th, 2014 the students from Blaydon Public School planted trees and shrubs at Wildwood Park (Area 2). Students monitored 20 trees/shrubs along the riparian area and also cleaned up litter and pulled invasive species (garlic mustard). Congratulations to the students for completing the Riparian Rangers program! Students taking
On Wed. Nov. 5th, 2014, the students from Pierre Laporte Middle School planted and monitored trees and shrubs at Wildwood Park (Area D1) as part of the Riparian Rangers program in partnership with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Students also removed litter and invasive species (buckthorn). Thank you to
Thanks to the students at Christ the King S.S. in Georgetown for remeasuring their trees in their P4C site. The site was planted in 2008. Unfortunately, a Bur Oak had Gypsy Moth egg mass on it but other Bur Oaks were healthy. Students learnt how to measure root collar, crown
