1 Bench 1 Tree, a passion project that began out of the 2nd year Master of Landscape Architecture co-hort.  MLA2's will be holding several "Late Lunch and Learn" events to educate ourselves on what our 1B1T partners can provide the landscape architecture community.

Our first event will be held next Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 1:30 PM via Zoom with our partner Maple Leaves Forever, who have donated a number of Sugar Maples planted at various hospitals around Ontario.

Maple Leaves Forever Foundation [1] (MLF) is a charitable foundation that advocates for and supports the planting of Native Canadian Maple Trees. 

“Our Native Maples are disappearing from the landscape of rural southern Ontario. In the late 19th century, farmers planted roadsides and laneways with maples from their woodlots in return for a government incentive. This gave rise to a legacy of lines of maples and other hardwoods bordering roads and dividing farm fields. Many of these trees are now degrading and are not being replaced by Native Canadian Maples. It can be cheaper but ultimately less effective to plant a cultivar or invasive species which has been imported from elsewhere, often the United States. We think it’s important to re-introduce and further restore Native Maples as a visual feature of the rural landscapes in southern Ontario.”  Maple Leaves Forever will speak to us, providing more detail and educating our landscape architecture community about our native trees.

One Bench One Tree is a grassroots project dedicated to expressing gratitude to front-line workers and other healthcare staff during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective is to add at least one bench and one tree to the landscape of hospitals across Canada to thank the workers who put their lives at risk to keep our communities safe during the pandemic.

To learn more about our initiative, please visit the 1 Bench 1 Tree website [2]. 

Please check your email for Zoom link or contact Everett DeJong [3], MLA Candidate.