Trees for Life (TFL) is encouraging Canadians to take advantage of the fall season to help grow healthy, resilient urban forests.
From now through early November, the organization is supporting more than 55 tree planting initiatives across eight provinces, bringing together community organizations, volunteers, local governments and partners to put more than 100,000 trees and shrubs in the ground.
While spring is often considered the traditional planting season, fall offers cooler temperatures and increased soil moisture, giving newly planted trees a chance to focus on establishing strong root systems before winter.
Building on one of the organization’s largest spring planting efforts to date, TFL and its partners will have planted 135,000 trees and shrubs across Canada in 2026, adding approximately 13.79 hectares of urban canopy with the potential to reduce local temperatures by to 2-10°C on average. To date, Trees for Life has supported the planting of over 3.5 million trees across Canada.
Why Fall is a Great Time to Plant
One of the most common misconceptions about tree planting is that spring is the best time to get trees in the ground. While spring is a great time to plant trees, fall can offer several advantages:
-
Strong root development: With cooler air temperatures and warm soil, trees can focus their energy on establishing roots before winter.
-
More moisture, less stress: Increased fall moisture and cooler temperatures can reduce the stress placed on newly planted trees and typically require less watering than trees planted during the heat of the summer.
-
A head start on spring: Trees planted in the fall can become well established, long before temperatures rise and summer heatwaves hit.
-
Winter protection: Snow can provide moisture and insulation around tree roots, helping protect newly planted trees through the winter months.
Trees for Life’s Fall Planting Schedule
Additional planting events and partnerships will be added throughout the season.
Additional planting events and partnerships will be added throughout the season.
Trees for Life is seeking volunteers to support various community plantings. Grab a shovel, dig in and help grow a greener future by volunteering at a local event. Advanced registration is required. Sign up at treesforlife.ca/events.
PETERBROROUGH, ON: Elementary School – Date to be confirmed
In partnership with GreenUP
Mini Forest – 100 trees | 200 shrubs
PETERBOROUGH, ON: Ecology Park – October 24
In partnership with GreenUp.
Little Forest – 300 trees | 50 shrubs
KINGSTON, ON: Starr Reid Park – October 24-25
Co-Funded by Green Communities Canada, in partnership with Little Forests Kingston
Little Forest – 150 trees | 150 shrubs
COBOURG, ON: Burnham Public School – Fall 2026
In partnership with GreenUp
300 trees | 50 shrubs
PETERBOROUGH, ON: Edmison Heights Public School – Fall 2026
In partnership with GreenUp
300 trees | 50 shrubs
PETERBOROUGH, ON: Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute – Fall 2026
In partnership with GreenUp
300 trees | 50 shrubs
To learn more, donate, or suggest a project, visit treesforlife.ca, or follow @CdnTreesforLife on X, Facebook or Instagram.
Comments