The Prep School and TRCA: Growing Urban Forests (The Glen, Spring 2024)

In the Spring of 2023 Bayview Glen’s Prep School began a strategic partnership with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) Our partnership includes two annual activities through which the students have the opportunity to work directly with the TRCA and learn alongside their educators.

In the spring, students in Grade 7 work with the TRCA on our school campus TRCA educators teach about the importance of urban forests and their impact on both biodiversity and the natural environment Students then plant shrubs and trees on our campus as a direct action to support this learning In an effort to increase the presence of Indigenous plant life, we have planted a number of alternate-leaved dogwood, snowberry, and fragrant sumac shrubs in front of the Moatfield Campus along with a sugar maple tree These species of shrubs were selected by the TRCA as they all are host plants for butterflies and caterpillars and provide a good food source for birds in the winter.

The TRCA has a goal of increasing canopy cover in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through an increase of urban forest space In doing so, they aim to improve the health and sustainability of local ecosystems by promoting tree planting and forest management This work will lead to additional benefits for the environment as well, including mitigating climate change by capturing carbon dioxide, improving air quality, and providing cooling effects in urban areas by reducing the heat island effect By planting shrubs and trees on our campus, the students are contributing directly to this important work.

While introducing the project, the TRCA educators also spoke about the Dish With One Spoon Wampum and its enduring relevance to how we care for the land The Dish With One Spoon Wampum is a symbolic agreement rooted in Indigenous law and culture, particularly among the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg Peoples, both of whom are the ancestral inhabitants of what we now call Toronto.

The Dish With One Spoon Wampum is a commitment to share the land and its resources responsibly The dish represents the land (or the environment) that sustains everyone, while the one spoon implies that everyone who shares this land must do so cooperatively, ensuring no one takes more than their fair share, thus preserving resources for future generations It emphasizes respect, mutual responsibility, and peaceful co-existence.

In the summer, students in Grade 8 meet again with members from the TRCA at Tommy Thompson Park We visit in order to learn about the process that went into designing and implementing Tommy Thompson Park on the land on the Leslie Spit, which ties in with the students’ PBL course, and also to plant shrubs on that site Students have the opportunity to meet with the TRCA educators again, continuing their relationship with them, while also actively participating a second time in increasing Toronto’s canopy cover.

We look forward to this ongoing relationship with the TRCA as we continue to work closely with them into the future.

Greg RyersonDirector of Teaching and Learning, Prep School