Help Plant Little Forests in Kingston

Help us plant four Little Forests!  We are three communities who are determined to take direct climate action and reclaim our responsibilities to our ecological kin. In Oct 2021 we are planting three Little Forests of diverse trees and shrubs indigenous to this land and seed zone. The Little Forests need our care as a human community: we must commit to their survival by preparing the soil, planting, watering and weeding for three years. The Little Forests will invite back biodiversity to the soil, birds and animals as each Little Forest grows and becomes resilient. They will give back to our community many times over through biodiversity, breathable air, resilient soil, and holding carbon. 

We need your help to raise enough funds to purchase 3000 yearling Indigenous tree seedlings. All amounts are perfect and powerful. We will not let you or the Little Forests down.

Little Forest Addictions and Mental Health Services (AMHS)
Deforestation is both a cause and effect of climate change. Privatization of wilderness, policing of public spaces, poverty, and poor infrastructure are all sources of alienation from nature, which, like other forms of deprivation, disproportionately affects those who already have the least.

Our goal with this project is to execute a collaborative vision of a space where all beings will be safe - safe to experience awe, to be playful, to be present, to grow and change. We hope that as our forest and garden mature, the space will help visitors discover a broader, more generous community in nature than they have known so far. We also hope that our little forest will serve to amplify the profile and impact of the little forest projects in Kingston which have paved the way for our own.

Little forests deserve to be recognized as the elegant solutions they are - powerful drivers for climate and social justice and an invitation to be transformed by our environments, for a change.
- 600 Indigenous trees and shrubs
- number of species to be determined, approximately 30-35

Little Forest Walking the Path to Peace
We will build our capacity to care for the land by offering an Indigenous environmental education workshop series consistent with Indigenous pedagogical practice. This will be a series of teaching/sharing circles that explore Indigenous ways of knowing rooted in the place we live. The Little Forest will be a space for ceremonial practice, learning our languages and sharing a holistic understanding of the forest ecosystem—our kin relations.

- 600 Indigenous trees and shrubs
- 39 species

Little Forest Kingston Secondary School
At Kingston Secondary School, we want to plant a Little Forest outdoor classroom and pollinator garden to build a relationship between the natural world and our urban students. We’ll learn about biodiversity, climate change and Indigenous science as we nurture our Little Forest to maturity.

- 300 Indigenous trees and shrubs
- 42 species

Little Forest Lakeside
We will build our capacity to care for the land and our community by cultivating an edible nut forest. We will combine what we’re learning from Western science about rapid natural forest regeneration with teachings from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) on how to transform our relationship with trees and with the land. The Little Nut Forest at Lakeside will be a space for cultivating a holistic understanding of an Indigenous edible forest ecosystem and learning about nature-based solutions to our biodiversity and climate crises. 

- 600 Indigenous trees and shrubs
- 49 species

Little Forest Wolfe Island
We'll plant Wolfe Island’s first Little Forest fall of 2021 at the NE corner of the Community Centre grounds entrance. It's situated in the village of Marysville and is next to Marysville Public School and the United Church. It is a welcoming space that is otherwise not utilized. It’s also outside of the fenced ball diamond area. Plus, there is good access for bringing in mulch and water needed to care for the trees in their first 3 years of life. 

Forty-one native species are planned for as part of the Upland St. Lawrence Basin temperate forest. It consists of four layers: Canopy 20%, Tree 40-50%, Subtree 25-30%, Shrub 8-12%.  Total tree seedlings to be planted = 300.

Want to join us in planting Little Forests?

Click DONATE in our GoFundMe campaign!

Sign up to help  plan, plant and care for the Little Forests & to receive our biweekly newsletter.

Read more about our methodology for planting Little Forests . 

_____________________________________________________________________


GoFundMe page created by tree lovers Joyce Hostyn, Maureen Buchanan, Joanne Whitfield, Kelsey Tucker, Josh Cowan, and Astrid Muschalla and the growing Little Forest community. 


Chi-miigwech, a big thank you for your contribution to this cause that means so much to the next seven generations and to the futures of our kin—the trees, the birds, and the bees!