Branch out and take a local tree tour
“You can’t see the forest for the trees,” is a useful saying when you are in an argument with someone who is missing the big picture.
We’re big picture guys and we believe in big picture ideas, too: like forests and tree canopies.
But sometimes it’s worthwhile to stop and look at a tree to become acquainted with it. It’s a slow but thorough way to see a forest. The longer we linger under a tree, the more that it talks to us.
Thankfully, there are plenty of noteworthy trees within driving distance of our homes that are worth seeing on their own. Some trees to consider: Our favourite, of course, is the 350year-old red oak at 76 Coral Gable Dr., in North York. We have written about this tree before and as of this writing, the fight is ongoing to save it. It’s possibly the oldest tree in Toronto and sits near the historic trading route of the Humber River. It was already 130 years old when the city of Toronto was founded.
Now the owners of the property want to sell, which makes the future of the tree uncertain until enough money is raised to make a public park out of the property. Public funding has been put on hold until the owner and the city have agreed on a selling price for the home. Stay tuned.
Toronto tree advocate Edith George suggests you visit the catalpa tree at 1390 Davenport Rd., which is estimated to be 125 years old. This tree leans out from the top of a retaining wall casting a tremendous shadow over the sidewalk and street below. Around the end of June and beginning of July, neighbours enjoy the thousands of orchidlike blossoms. Not coincidentally, catalpa is a member of the orchid family.
High Park is known for its spring cherry blossoms. But that is just the beginning.
On the east shore of Grenadier Pond, behind the carpet bed display, stands a gnarly dawn redwood ( Metasequoia glyptostroboides). The species was thought to be extinct when first observed by fossil hunters in the 1940s — until a group of scientists discovered living specimens in Sichuan, China, in 1948.
High Park is also home to the unique oak savannah, a type of savannah almost eliminated in Ontario by land development and agriculture. Within High Park, there are magnificent black oaks, but also roughly 32 rare plant species that thrive only in this unique environment.
Learn more about the trees of High Park by taking a tour with High Park Nature.
Urban Orchard. Visit Ben Nobleman Park in Toronto’s west end for a selfguided tour of 14 established fruit trees. Featuring five species, these trees provide the basis for educating Torontonians about growing fruit trees. To learn more, attend one of the twice-monthly “stewardship days” by educator Susan Poizner. Topics include fruit tree prun- ing, disease and insect prevention, irrigation and mulching. Visit Poizner’s website, orchardpeople.com, for more information.
Of course, there are countless ways to go on a tree tour. Canadian Tree Tours is an online resource that has tree tours pre-mapped complete with relevant tree facts, GPS coordinates and tree markers along the route to help you find each tree. The routes are free and can be found around Toronto and Burlington.
More great tours are available from the qualified experts of LEAF for a suggested donation of $10. LEAF stands for Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests, and was founded by environmentalist Janet McKay. In addition to planned tree tours, you can arrange for LEAF to host one in your neighbourhood, if you live in Toronto, for a $350 donation.
LEAF hosts tree plantings and education programs including tree tours across Toronto and York Region. Learn more at yourleaf.org/tree-tours.
You can also get out and take your own tour of local trees because sometimes it’s easier to appreciate the big stuff — the forests and the canopy — when we stop to appreciate the individuals.