Ecological Restoration on Municipal Public Parklands: Assessing LEAF’s Community Tree Planting in York Region

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Ecological restoration, mainly through naturalization, is an effective method for transitioning damaged or degraded urban environments to a more natural state. LEAF, a non-profit organization, has played a pivotal role in urban forestry by engaging communities in tree-planting events since 2014. The organization emphasizes the importance of planting native species and addresses factors such as soil limitations, topography, and seedling characteristics. Naturalization efforts are costly, time-demanding to establish a tree, and expensive to implement and maintain. Hence, assessing the success of ecological restoration projects is critical to justify restoration in naturalization and improve best practices. This paper aims to assess LEAF’s Community Tree Planting approach to naturalization in the York Region, assess the practices and relative success of the LEAF-CTP program based on a review of tree survival between the years 2020 and 2022, and identify areas where tree planting improvement in the region and provide guidelines for LEAF’s future naturalized restoration projects. Adopted for this study were a multi-stage sampling procedure with a three-stage design. LEAF provided information on Community Tree Planting (CTP) areas and planting practices and prepared survival assessment data for the areas covered each year for analysis. The data obtained were analyzed using both one-way ANOVA and descriptive statistical techniques. The survival rate, diversity index, and health status were analyzed, and invasive species were identified and documented. The ANOVA results reveal that sapling height significantly affected plant survival while other factors did not. The results showed records of 94% survival rates out of 5,421 trees and shrubs planted between 2020 and 2022, with a 0.9 diversity index. A minimum survival rate of 66% was recorded at Humber Flats Ecopark of Richmond Hill in 2020, with poor health status recorded in three public parklands out of eight parklands with trees and shrubs. Identified with invasive species are 26% of the total plots established in the study area. The study concluded that LEAF-CTP’s approach to naturalization across the York Region is advancing with a high diversity of woody plants across the years in all the cities. According to LEAF practises, all plots were mulched, but not all plots were watered, identified fewer invasive species in Richmond Hill and none at King and Markham City. Hence, this study recommends continuing planting events with community participation and adequate monitoring. Experimental trees and shrub planting design will be better than on a plot basis. Smaller (lower height) saplings should be used for planting as they can withstand environmental stress. Ensuring proper watering to promote root growth in the topsoil as part of a new tree-planting technique and managing invasive species to ensure better-established planted trees is vital.