As gardeners, we've been colonized. We plant lonely trees, pines in lines and cookie cutter landscapes. How can we rewild ourselves and our approach to gardening? How can we learn to see forests as beings? How can we become forest stewards in a time of climate change?

1. this being is
becoming forest stewards in a changing climate

2. tree planting
'has mind-blowing potential'
to tackle climate crisis
~The Guardian
Sean Kilpatrick

3. Is tree planting really
the solution?
Michael Owens, Flickr

4. Despite an obsession with tree planting, we’re still
losing forests
Source: World Bank

5. Does the way we see trees
prevent us from seeing the forest?
Jerdess, Flickr

6. We see trees as things
maximelaterreur

7. things that give us gifts
TreePeople

8. It’s all about us, not the trees

9. In the countryside, we plant millions of pines in lines
Photo: Sabrina Byrnes
45% of tree planting pledges for single-species plantations

10. In cities we plant millions of lonely trees
.Brianna, Flickr

11. We may be doing more harm than good
Tree-planting programs can do more harm than good, Canadian Geographic

12. reforestation focuses on trees
NOT on forest beings

13. Of an inanimate being, like a table, we say
“What is it?” And we answer
“Dopwen yewee. Table it is.”
But of apple, we must say
“Who is that being?”
and reply
“Mshimin yawe. Apple that being is.”
To speak of those possessed with
life and spirit we must say yawe.
~Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Kina Action, Flickr

14. How does this being see itself & its
situation?
gifts

15. attributes
behaviours
needs
relationships
spirit, soul, breath
How does this being see itself & its
situation?
thoughts
language
gifts

16. We don’t look at elephants
just as commodities or as
mechanical and insentient
objects [things]. We
recognize them as
marvelous beings.
...nobody thinks about the
inner life of trees, the
feelings of these wonderful
living beings.
~Peter Wohlleben
Photo by James Hammond on Unsplash

17. beings who thrive in community

18. What an irony it is that these living beings whose shade we sit in, whose fruit we eat, whose limbs we climb, whose roots we
water, to whom most of us rarely give a second thought, are so poorly understood. We need to come, as soon as possible, to
a profound understanding and appreciation for trees & forests and they vital role they play, for they are our best allies in the
uncertain future that is unfolding.
~Jim Robbins, The Man Who Planted Trees
Photo by Malachi Brooks on Unsplash

19. what, as gardeners, can we do?

20. How can we heal our relationship with
the living beings with whom we share
our homes & planet?
Photo by Nicolas DC on Unsplash

21. I live in a typical suburban neighbourhood

22. In a place originally landscaped with asphalt, grass
& cookie cutter foundation plantings

23. I’ve been wildscaping (with a little help from
my friends!)
Photo by Yannick Menard on Unsplash

24. Now I share my home with a forest being

25. Walnut hickory oak maple forest this being is

26. A tiny pocket of the Carolinian forest

27. as gardeners, we’ve been colonized
Chelsea Flower Show

28. Under the tenets of the international design, the diversity of the native landscape is replaced by the
monotony of international horticulture. The living elements that tie a place to its region - that give it
identity - are subjegated to the ‘utopian’ vision of a perfect and unchanging scene of uniform turf and
identical cookie-cutter trees. The plantings in every subdivision, shopping centre and industrial ‘parks’ are
selected from a nursery catalogue of best-sellers, mainly exotic species and genetically uniform cultivars
and hybrids.
~Gerry Waldron, Trees of the Carolinian Forest

29. As a gardener, I’m rewilding myself and my
approach to gardening
Andrew McFarlane, Flickr

30. As a master gardener, I’m helping others
wildscape

31. As an activist, I’m working to decolonize how our
city sees the urban landscape

32. As an advocate for delicious, nutritious local food,
I’m helping plant food forests in public parks

33. As a citizen scientist, I’m learning about plant
beings and how they flourish in relationship

34. As a lover of trees, I’m helping forest beings
migrate
Agnes Meyer-Brandis, Office for Tree Migration (OTM)

35. in light of the climate emergency
How might we rewild
[decolonize] our approach to
gardening?

36. wildscaping our homes

37. wildscaping our farms
Knepp Wildland

38. wildscaping our cities
Rewilding Vancouver

39. An Ark [wildscape] is a restored, native
ecosystem, a local, small, medium or large
rewilding project.
It’s a thriving patch of native plants and
creatures that have been allowed and
supported to re-establish in the earths
intelligent, successional process of natural
restoration. Over time this becomes a
pantry and a habitat for our pollinators and
wild creatures who are in desperate need of
support.
~Mary Reynolds, ark designer

40. ...small patches of vanishing habitat are... lifeboats for imperiled biodiversity and
human welfare, and we must battle to keep them afloat. Habitat remnants are a
key source of seeds of native plants, seed-dispersing animals and native
pollinators.
~Williams Laurance, Researcher

41. From the very beginning of the world, the other species
were a lifeboat for the people.
Now, we must be theirs.
~Robin Wall Kimmerer

42. time to restore our
forest heritage,
not plant more
lonely trees
~ Peter Wohlleben

43. What is our forest heritage?
Suzumski Photography, Muskoka Tree

44. Approximately 80% of Canada’s forests are Boreal
Canadian Encyclopedia, Forest Regions

45. We’re in the Great Lakes-St Lawrence forest region,
home to ~50 native tree species & ~25% forest cover
maple, red oak,
yellow birch,
white pine, red pine,
hemlock,
beech, basswood

46. Carolinian (Deciduous) forest is home to ~100
native tree species & only 10-12% forest cover
maple, oak, birch, blue ash,
cedar, hemlock,
hickory, black walnut,
sassafras, tulip tree,
chestnut,
black gum, cucumber tree

47. More endangered & rare
species than any other life
zone in Canada
Greatest wildlife diversity
Less than 2% in public
ownership
73% agriculture
Forest cover 11.3% (from
80%)
Forest interior 2%
Wetlands 5.1% (from 28.3%)
Map: Carolinian Canada Coalition
“like Canada’s Amazon”

48. Getty Images
200 years ago the Mixedwood Plains (Great Lakes-Saint
Lawrence + Carolinian) were 90% forest

49. today 17% remains,
most in wetlands
Source: Urban Forestry Management Plan, City of KingstonSpencer Wynn, Nature Conservancy of Canada

50. For healthy ecosystems, we need 50% forest cover
International Boreal Conservation Science Panel

51. Canadian Geographic
“climate changes everything”

52. More very hot days (~2 months of +30) by the end
of the century
Climate Atlas

53. Wetter springs, drier summers
Climate Atlas

54. Simulation of jet stream pattern July 22, VentuSky.com, Michael Mann
More variability, more extremes, longer durations

55. 71 million hectares forest
43 million hectares managed Crown forest
1.1 million hectares damaged by weather disturbances
0.45 million hectares damaged by insects & disease
0.18 million hectares burned by forest fires
0.11 million hectares of forest harvested
More climate variability means more disturbances
(forest disturbances 2009-2013)
State of Ontario’s Natural Resources - Forests 2016

56. More frequent, more severe storms
Constable James Hooper, Twitter

57. More pests like balsam & hemlock woolly adelgids

58. More flooding due to lack of trees, wetlands
Photo: Sonny Subra, Twitter

59. Some trees (like ashes) are already suffering
Photo: Michael Hunter / Wikimedia Commons

60. “We’re already exceeding the worst case scenario”
Trees for 2050, Andrew Bell, Chicago Botanic Garden

61. Photo: Shawna Greyeyes, Harvard Forest
Trees are absolutely
experiencing heat, rain,
growing, breathing, sweating,
eating, doing all of these
things that we do.
~Clarisse Hart, Harvard Forest

62. Oak-Hickory: Low vulnerability
Oak-Pine: Medium vulnerability
Maple-Beech-Birch: High vulnerability
Source: Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool
Some of our forests are highly vulnerable

63. If the current climate conditions in this ecoregion (7E)
[Carolinian] move as predicted, the plants & animals
there will have to adapt, move or die
~Environment & Energy Ontario

64. How can we help forest beings survive
& thrive in a changing climate?

65. We need to let nature heal itself and come back to balance
with broadleaf species that are natural to our region, like oaks
and beeches, which will help to cool the forests down and
can survive climate change without too much harm.
~Peter Wohlleben
Denny Müller, Unsplash

66. assist
migration
diversify native
species
think
ecosystems

67. become a citizen scientist to help local
knowledge of native species

69. Learn about the wonderful beings who call our
region home

70. Explore & map your yard, neighbourhood or a local
forest being

71. wild basil (Clinopodium vulgare)
Discover native species that garden centres ignore
then collect & share their seed

72. Native sedges are great candidates for
wildscaping our yards

73. Dan Mullen, Flickr
Join with nutty people helping nut tree beings
Ontario Society of Nut Growers - songonline.ca

74. RubyT, Flickr
Or seedy people (like KASSI)
KASSI: Kingston Area Seed System Initiative - seedsgrowfood.org

75. Miracle Farms, Peter McCabe, Montreal Gazette
Or food forest people (Lakeside & Oak Street)
lakesidecommunitygarden.org & oakstreetgarden.wordpress.com

76. Documenting and paying attention to
the vast biodiversity around us is
something we can all do that truly
does help, and it doesn’t drain our
spirits, but it feeds them…
We’re all teaching and learning from
each other and making contributions
that are valuable, and it’s one of the
most rewarding things in my life.
~Jennifer Rycenga, talking about her experiences with
iNaturalist
Photo by The Wilson Center

77. seek out regionally adapted
seeds, nuts & plants
David Alexander, Flickr

78. Up to 90% of nursery-grown trees & shrubs are
cloned, making them particularly vulnerable
Eric, Flickr

79. Genetically diverse, regionally adapted plants &
seeds are more likely to survive freeze-thaw cycles
Dogwood Winter, Farmer’s Almanac

80. Cloned stock mean natives such as spicebush
(Lindera benzoin) & viburnums won’t set fruit
you need both male & female plants
Source: Kirtlandii

81. Don’t discriminate against female trees - they
increase diversity and support wildlife
Toronto 96% male
Source: Male trees winning the battle of the sexes in Canada

82. To help migrants thrive, innoculate with
host-specific mycorrhizae

83. Biodiversity: the wondrous, teeming, calamitously threatened
variety & variability of life on Earth, sometimes measured by
species richness.
~Robert Macfarlane
Brody J, Cardinal with tulip tree seed, Flickr

84. help tree beings migrate

85. Trees are already migrating North & West!

86. But cities & highways block migration paths
Vancouver Land Bridge

87. Trees retreating from the Lake Simcoe Watershed
White spruce (Picea glauca)
Balsam fir (Abies balsamea)
Eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
Paper birch (Betula papyrifera)
Tamarack (Larix laricina)
Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Source: Tree species in a changing climate

88. Trees enduring in the Lake Simcoe Watershed
American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Maple (sugar, red, silver) (Acer saccharum, A.
rubrum, A. saccharinum)
Oak (red, white, bur) (Quercus rubra, Q. alba, Q.
macrocarpa)
White pine (Pinus strobus)

89. Trees advancing in the Lake Simcoe Watershed
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
Hickories (shagbark, bitternut, pignut) (Carya ovata,
C. cordiformis, C. glabra)
Southern oaks (swamp white oak, eastern black
oak, chinquapin oak, scarlet oak) (Quercus bicolor,
Q. velutina, Q. muehllenbergii, Q. coccinea)
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Blackgum (Nyssa sylvestre)
Various other Carolinian species

90. Photo by Don Montgomery
Meet a few Carolinian species

91. Common species Indicator species
sugar maple
beech
oak
basswood
birch
ash
cedar
hickory
black walnut
white pine
red, white, rock elm
tulip tree
sycamore
chestnut
sassafras
flowering dogwood
pawpaw
red mulberry
cucumber tree
kentucky coffee tree
butternut
ohio buckeye
black cherry

92. Adaptable old friends include maple, oak, hickory
and beech
Guy Schmickle, Flickr

93. Wonderfully diverse specialized species such as the
delicious pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
Sarah Wiggins

94. Fast growing, gorgeous wind resistant Tulip tree
(Liriodendron tulipifera)
Ruth Raymond,Flickr

95. American chestnut (Castanea dentata) once
dominated the Carolinian forest
pwdeacon, iNaturalist

96. Seeds of the drought resilient Kentucky coffeetree
(Gymnocladus dioicus) were spread by dinosaurs

97. The rare Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) has
showy flowers but likes moist soil
jem9redwood,iNaturalist

98. Black cherry (Prunus serotina) has fragrant white
flowers, attractive foliage & fruit loved by birds
Ben Porchuk, ecologist with Carolinian Canada

99. Cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata), our largest
native magnolia, is imperiled in Ontario
randybodkins, iNaturalist

100. Butternut (Juglans cinerea) has delicious nuts but
is threatened by canker

101. Birds love the fruit of black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica),
a beautiful tree with stunning fall colour
samuelbrinker, iNaturalist

102. Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) has outstanding
bark & delicious nuts
St. Louis Native Plants

103. Shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa) is growing at
Lemoine Point in an assisted migration trial
Walkuere123, Flickr

104. An old American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
lives in Prince Edward County
pantherophis, iNaturalist

105. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), a small understory
tree, turns brilliant red in fall
RonTheG, Flickr

106. Birds & humans love the fruit of the red mulberry
(Morus rubra)
wilson59604, iNaturalist

107. The endangered flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
brightens up the forest understory
Jim Mayes, Flickr

108. Hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), my favourite understory
tree, is host to the giant swallowtail butterfly
Dave Rogers, Flickr

109. Instead of invasive burning bush, plant our native
Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus)
sehnature, iNaturalist

110. Bees loves the fragrant October blooming flowers
of witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Eric Hunt, Flickr

111. Longer, warmer falls means American persimmon
(Diospyros virginiana) may have time to ripen
Puddin Tain, Flickr

112. Carolina silverbell (Halesia carolina) isn’t native to
Canada, but is a hardy Carolinian beauty
Raleigh Explorers

113. My all time favourite Carolinian shrub is the fringe
tree (Chionanthus virginicus)

114. Hummingbirds love bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus
parviflora) which colonizes the forest edge
David Hebert

115. Bark of long flowering Carolina allspice (Calycanthus
floridus) is similar to cinnamon

116. think ecosystems
don’t plant lonely trees
Al Bod, Flickr

117. Florida Department of Education
Trees are community beings

118. Christopher Shein, The Vegetable Gardener's Guide to Permaculture
Centuries ago humans learned to grow food
forests in layers that mimic wild forests

119. Now we’re learning to design urban wildscapes
using layered plant communities

120. Energy enters and exits a forest in equal measure. Each organism
serves a function and benefits, one fueled by the waste of another.
They form a community, reliant on each other.
If the system becomes overly homogenized
or a disturbance shifts its balance, it becomes
dangerously vulnerable.
~Tom Wessels, Beyond the Forest
Photo by Amy Baugess on Unsplash

121. Instead of mulch
tquist24, Flickr

122. Nurture a biodiverse herbaceous layer
Alistar, Wild garlic (Allium tricoccum), Flickr

123. Maple leaf viburnum

124. Big leaf aster

125. Big leaf aster

126. Thimbleweed

127. False solomon’s seal & Elm-leaved goldenrod, Peter Gorman, Flickr

128. Baneberry, Larry Reis, Flickr

129. Broad-leaved goldenrod

130. Blue-stemmed goldenrod

131. Hairy sweet cicely

132. Foamflower

133. Fragrant sumac

134. Hepatica

135. Pennsylvania & plantain leaved sedges

136. Orange-fruited horse gentian

137. Running strawberry-bush

138. Bluebeard lily (Clintonia borealis)

139. The greatest value in restoration [wildscaping] may not be in its ability to transform
the landscape but in its ability to transform our relationship to our landscape.
~Bill Jordan, Society for Ecological Restoration

140. 1000 places to see
before you die
Photo by Yuriy Garnaev on Unsplash

141. 1000 places to see
before you die
Photo by Yuriy Garnaev on Unsplash

142. Photo: Paul Roedding
10 relationships to nurture
Lemoine Point Conservation Area | Parrot Bay | Frontenac Park |
Cataraqui Conservation Area | Marshlands Conservation Area
Carolinian Trail, Pinery Provincial Park | Turkey Point Provincial Park |
Bronte Creek Provincial Park | Rondeau Provincial Park |
Long Point Provincial Park

143. grow wild
our gardens play a vital ecological role
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

144. joyce_hostyn@yahoo.com
rideau1000islandsmastergardeners.com
lakesidecommunitygarden.org
rewildmycity.com

145. resources
Stephany Heaven, Flickr

146. Trees of the Carolinian Forest & Carolinian Canada

148. Canadian Tree Tours
Toronto’s Canadian tree tours

149. City of Kingston Tree Species List, Urban Forest Management Plan
City of Kingston’s tree species list

150. Source: Choosing the right tree in Peterborough
Choosing the right tree in Peterborough

151. Region of Waterloo shade tree list
Source: Shade Tree List, Region of Waterloo

152. London’s native trees & shrubs for wildlife
Native Shrubs and Trees for Wildlife, London Grow Naturally

153. Credit Valley Conservation native plant lists
Selecting Native Plants, Credit Valley Conservation

154. suppliers
Clarissa Wei, Flickr

155. Native Plant Resource Guide Ontario, Society for Ecological Restoration
Sources of Native Planting Stock for the Carolinian Zone (2012)

156. Guide to Native Plant Nurseries & Seed Suppliers, Credit Valley Conservation