Even though it’s cold and snowy outside in Sudbury, Ontario, we see new trees sprouting along the windowsill of Ms. Amadio’s grade 6 classroom. A good reminder that you can be green year round!
Ms. Amadio’s students proudly display their seedlings in their incredible biodegradable cartons and the work they’ve done to identify different tree species using an interactive key that can be found at dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/veg/treekey/. (Great resource Ms. A!!).
In the background, we can see a fun activity the class added to their data management unit. A height comparison of tree species.
Want to see how YOU measure up against the tallest trees in the world? Find the printable here.
Thanks for sharing Ms. Amadio’s class! You’re this month’s Trees for Life Canada Eco Super-Stars!
Make sure to check back for updates on Ms. Amadio’s class’ seedlings & her super-star environmental education efforts!
Trees 4 Life Canada is pleased to welcome Umicore Precious Metals Canada. Umicore’s donation will be used to help provide teachers’ manuals, student workbooks, and Grow a Tree project kits for elementary students in the Toronto area. The program complements Umicore’s own environmental policy and the company’s ongoing commitment to producing environmentally- friendly products and supporting the local community.
In 2012 the Umicore Group was again in the Top 10 of the most sustainable corporations in the world and was selected as one of the most ethical companies in the world. www.umicorepreciousmetals.com
For the second year running, Hamilton YMCA day camps took part in the Grow a Tree project. Campers learned how trees are really important for maintaining a healty environment…and even how trees can help you beat the summer heat! Each camper planted his or her own spruce or pine tree and took the all important Trees for Life pledge: I promise to love and care for my tree so it can grow up big and strong! Check out the campers completing the mazes and activites and reading the jokes and fun facts in their student workbooks. You can see the campers at Dr. J. Edgar Davey elementary school cheering for their newly planted trees as a group. Good going Hamilton YMCA! See you again next year! –The T4L crew
Trees 4 Life Canada is super pleased to welcome Streak Free Canada as a new sponsor. Streak Free creates amazing Mirafiber cleaning cloths that eliminate the use of paper towels saving trees. They let you clean your home and be chemical free, using 95% less water than regular mops and cloths! Washable, they clean up anything around the house and last a long time.Streak Free owner is an amazing mom of 3 who believes in clean healthy homes,protecting our environment and fun environmental education. For every Streak Free cloth or mop sold, they will make a donation to Trees4Life Canada supporting the Grow a Tree Project across Canada! visit Streakfree.ca andplease Like Streakfree on Facebook
This April the Albion Elementary school in Maple Ridge British Columbia is the first school to work with us on a collaboration project with the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada. The whole school will be participating in our Grow a Tree project and is receiving very special, hand-harvested Whitebark Pine seeds that have been stratified and are ready to plant. After the seedlings sprout, the students will become stewards and take care of the seedlings for a few months. Then, the Whitebark Pine Foundation Ecologists will visit the school to collect the seedlings and plant them back into the region.
Congratulations Albion Pac Elementary! We look forward to hearing your progress and posting your photos and observations!
To learn more about White Bark Pine visit: http://www.whitebarkpine.ca/
This is a wonderful opportunity to applaud the care and dedication of young people as stewards and share it with Canadian schools. Please contact lisa@trees4life.ca if your school is interested in becoming special seedling stewards in these select British Columbia areas: Whistler, Pemberton and Lillooet, Invermere, Kimberley, Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford, Nelson, Castlegar, Creston.
In 2010 a Trees For Life volunteer Eric Yealland went to Accra Ghana to do some volunteer work with a school there. During his stay, he met a teacher named Nana Sarfo.
Nana and Eric started the Trees For Life Program in Ghana and now hundreds of schoolchildren are learning about the environment. Trees For Life Ghana is actively seeking donations to expand the program.
On a chilly December afternoon, Trees for Life Canada joined the Virtual YMCA at its Bennetto Elementary School afterschool program in Hamilton. In keeping with the Virtual YMCA’s social skills development program, Trees for Life Canada delivered a student workshop focusing on the Y’s core values of Respect, Caring and Responsibility.
Students learned about kid-sized solutions to some of our worst environmental issues. Each student planted his or her own tree and pledged to love and care for it.
The Hamilton Spectator picked up the story and published a nice, photo filled piece with all of the fun things kids do at the Virtual YMCA.
**Update – Students at Bennetto Elementary contacted Trees for Life Canada to report the good news! Many of the Honey Locust trees planted in December have grown to be over 30cm tall. Students are excited to transplant their seedlings outside this spring! Thanks Bennetto Virtual YMCA! Keep the updates coming!
Trees for Life Canada partnered with Hamilton Burlington Brantford YMCA Camps this summer to present the Clean Air by Kids workshop to day campers.
Campers learned about how trees help to maintain a healthy, ecological balance on the planet, but more specifically, how trees help to clean the air we breathe!
Despite the sometimes soaring temperatures, campers got outside to dig in the dirt and Trees for Life Canada is proud to announce that over 120 campers planted their very own trees over the course of the summer! Campers took the Trees for Life Canada pledge to care for and love their trees and each tree got its own (sometimes silly) name!
For 20 years TD Friends of the Environment has been a key sponsor of the Grow A Tree program, providing funding for over 300,000 students. We wish to thank them for their consistent support over the years. 
Trees For Life Canada and our Clean Air By Kids program is a Shell Fueling For Change recipient
Burlington Bingo Association
Alberta Tree Seed Centre
Optimist Club of Hamilton
Ontario Tree Seed Plant
F. W. Schumacher Co., Inc.