CONFERENCE IS NOW SOLD OUT!!  

FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T PRE- REGISTER, WE HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!

Ontario Urban Forest Council Annual Conference

(in partnership with Climate Action Niagara*) 

Healthy Communities are Rooted in Urban Forests

 Don't be left behind - last year we sold out - please pre-register!  

 Thurs. Nov. 4, 3:30 - 9 pm

 Fri. Nov. 5,  7:45 am  - 4 pm.  details below

Sheraton Four Points Hotel, Thorold ON (near St Catharines)

   Rooms OUFC rate $99 - Toll Free: 1-877-848-3782

ROOMS ARE ONLY BEING HELD AT THIS RATE UNTIL WED OCT 27

At this conference we will explore the many ways through which our urban forests contribute to our social, psychological and physical health, for individuals and their communities.  It has been common knowledge for years that trees provide an important service namely, the conversion of CO² to oxygen.  However, we are just beginning to realize other valuable offerings of our urban forests. 

As we assess the value of trees to our communities it is imperative that we  include all aspects of the “return” that healthy urban forests provide.  Healthier children, skin cancer prevention, lower rates of violence are just some of the researched benefits of healthy urban forests.  This conference explores and expands our understanding of how healthy urban forests benefit our communities.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE.

Thursday  November 4, 2010.    

3:30 – 5:00  meet at Hotel lobby.

Early birds get the worm! Join us for a hike in the gorgeous rolling hills of Short Hills Provincial Park – with paw paw and cucumber trees and naturalized cacti.  Meet at the hotel and carpool or make it a stop en route from Toronto to the hotel.

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM            Sheraton four points hotel,  Newman Room.

Evening Program:  Following the spectacular success of last year, we are again offering an evening program to network, socialize, hear a fabulous speaker, and participate in the Ontario Urban Forest Council Annual General Meeting.  

Guest speaker Steve Hounsell will be sharing his experiences working to bridge the link between urban and rural forests to maintain continuous green corridors plus discussion of Carolinian trees that grace Niagara.

Steve is biologist with over thirty-five years of experience working with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the former Ontario Hydro.

Steve currently works in the Corporate Sustainable Development Group of Ontario Power Generation, where he manages OPG's biodiversity programs.  He was responsible for the development and implementation of their biodiversity policy, the first of its kind in the electricity industry. He has made many contributions to woodland conservation in southern Ontario.

Friday November 5, 2010           Sheraton Four Points Hotel.  Brock Room.

7:45 am – 8:30 am  Registration & continental breakfast

8:30 – Welcome.  Toni Ellis, President, Ontario Urban Forest Council.  Toni is also coordinator of NeighbourWoods on the Grand, promoting, planting, stewarding and advocating for urban trees in Centre Wellington. 

8:45  - Opening Remarks,  Moderator:  Michael Rosen, R.P.F. Michael is the President of Tree Canada, an Ottawa-based organization that has helped in urban forest programs in over 350 communities, green over 450 school yards and planted over 76 million trees since 1992. Previously he was a Stewardship Coordinator and Forester with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

8: 50 - 9:30  Session I Shade for Good Health and a Green City

Solar radiation, and especially the ultraviolet portion of solalr radiation is a human carcinogen for skin cancer.  The provision of shade in City-owned and operated outdoor venues, in particular where children are in attendance, is an important measure of the primary prevention of skin cancer and its associated health and economic burden.  The Shade Policy for the City of Toronto and accompanying Shade Guidelines reinforces the benefits of shade, especially through its natural form (trees and vegetation) to not only human health, but the environment.  

Safoura Moazami, Health Promotion Consultant, Healthy Public Policy, Toronto Public Health and Toronto Cancer Prevention coalition.

Alex Shevchuk, Supervisor, Area Landscape and Planning Initiative, Parks Forestry and Recreation, City of Toronto.

9:30 - 10:00  Session II Backyards and Biodiversity: Woody Plants and their Importance for Urban wildlife.

Grouped together, backyards add up to a significant amount of urban space. The Gosling Wildlife Gardens at the University of Guelph Arboretum have developed over the past 20 years and showcase what homeowners can do in their own backyards to attract wildlife and add to their community's wild spaces.

Chris Earley, Interpretive Biologist, Education Coordinator, The Arboretum, University of Guelph. Chris has spent 18 years encouraging U of Guelph Arboretum visitors to change their backyards into wildlife habitat. Chris also teaches a variety of bird, insect and art workshops at The Arboretum. Many of his current projects are focused on linking both adults and children to nature through awareness of backyard biodiversity.

 Break 30 minutes

10:30 - 11:00  Session III  i-Tree Analysis in the GTA: Evaluating the Ecosystem Services Provided by Our Urban Forests   

The i-Tree Software Suite, created by the USDA Forest Service, are tools of analysis available to municipalities interested in evaluating and quantifying the benefits of the urban forest. Using sample-based inventory data, the i-Tree Eco model provides estimates for specified environmental services provided by the urban forest. In 2008, an informal collaboration took shape whereby the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority coordinated urban forest studies for selected GTA municipalities. This presented an opportunity for collaboration to harmonize study methods and aggregate results to better understand the collective benefits provided by urban forests across the GTA. In most cases, the study results are also contributing to the development of plans and strategies for improved management of the urban forest resources.

 Rike Burkhardt, M.F.C., R.P.F., Planner, Urban Forestry Department, city of Toronto, 

Meagan Eastwood, M.F.C., Natural Heritage Coordinator with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. 

11:00 - 11:20 Session IV.  Neighbours Plant Trees that Seed a Community 

Jeff Otto, firefighter, community activist.  Jeff is a proud owner of a home in the Pocket area of Riverdale Toronto and has been working for the city as a firefighter for the last 9 years.  His love for his street, and its once lush canopy, has made him a strong advocate for tree planting and a leader in galvanizing his neighbours to take a stakehold in their community.

11:20 - 11:45  Session V. Vegetation and Violence.      This University of Illinois study shows the correlation between having trees and greenery near where we live, and the rate of violence in the community.  

Brenlee Robinson, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Forest Conservation,  has been researching the correlation between nature and mental health.

11:45 - 1:15  Session VI Lunch and Keynote Speaker 

Healthy Communities are Rooted in Urban Forests

Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist and medical biochemist who is an expert on the medicinal, environmental, and nutritional properties of trees.  

She is the author of several books including A Garden for Life (2004) (originally published as Bioplanning a North Temperate Garden, 1999), Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest (2003) and a collection of short stories, Time Will Tell (2004). Her current works include Arboretum Borealis - the sister book to Arboretum America about the great northern forests and their importance in the global ecosystem, The Global Forest (2010) - forty essays, and Sun Dogs - a collection of nature stories from her garden.

Her indisputable passion for her subject matter will inspire us all to look at trees, and at their own connection to the natural world, with newfound awe.

 1:15 - 1:35  Session VII.  Niagara’s innovative tree planting partnership program, School Scapes and

Re-Leaf Nursery

Mike Rose, Stewardship Coordinator, Land Care Niagara.

Jane Hanlon, Executive Director of Climate Action Niagara. 

1 : 35 - 2:05  Session VIII.  Sudbury’s City-Wide Forest Renewal and the School Re-Greening Program.    

Dr Peter Beckett, Reclamation, Restoration and Wetland Ecologist, Biology Department, Laurentian University, and Chair, Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee (VETAC), City of Greater Sudbury.

Break  30 minutes

2:35 - 3:15 Session IX.  Graduate Student presentation.  The Urban Forest Benefits Model: furthering a city's goals towards sustainability through GIS decision-supported greening.

   Bradley Doff  is presently engaged in Master’s level research at Lakehead University developing a prototype model called the Urban Forest Benefits Model, which will help optimize the benefits a community receives from green infrastructure.  As a result, communities can better achieve their sustainability goals through use of “smart”, GIS decision-supported urban forest planting and maintenance.  

Brad holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and has worked for two municipalities in urban forest management since he graduated in 2003.  He is currently studying and living in Thunder Bay with his wife.

3:15 - 3:45  Session X.  Evergreen’s Contribution to the Urban Forest, One Schoolyard at a Time. The impact of natural areas on school children's health and behaviour is considerable. Evergreen’s award winning Learning Grounds Program will be showcased in this session.

Cam Collyer, Director, Learning Grounds Program, Evergreen Foundation. Cam has directed Evergreen’s Learning Grounds Program since 1997 and has overseen the establishment of a national network of school ground design professionals, the creation of a large suite of print and web-based publications, the establishment of pioneering partnerships with schools boards across Canada. Grants of over $1 million have been distributed to schools. A qualified teacher, with a specialty in outdoor and experiential education, Cam has worked in a variety of public and private educational settings.

 Closing Remarks and Wrap Up.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

There are still opportunities for display tables. For more information call Jack at 416-936-6735  or info@oufc.org

Be a leader in Urban Forestry and help sponsor the conference! For more information on how you can get

• table in our exhibit hall
• sponsorship board at entry
• listing in the conference delegate kit plus logo
• verbal acknowledgement at the start and conclusion of the conference
• one free delegate registration

please contact Toni Ellis, OUFC (519) 846 8245 or

Jane Hanlon, Climate Action Niagara (289) 820 6440

*CLIMATE ACTION NIAGARA (CAN) is a regional not for profit nonpartisan environmental organization that provides opportunities for education and actions that address issues related to climate change.  Established in 2006, CAN is the fastest growing eco organization in Niagara.  CAN hosts the annual Eco Fest Niagara event supporting greener jobs, and provides community gardens active transportation toolkits, eco workshops and films, reintroduces native plant species, and energy initiatives.  CAN has partnered with GreenSaver to provide the Provincial Eco Energy Assessments for residential homes for Niagara/Hamilton areas.   For information on how you can  participate, call 289 820 6440.