Getting to Know Your Greenspace, is a educational series comprised of four exciting webinars, on topics ranging from invasive species and climate friendly gardening, to the benefits of trees. Missed the webinars? Recordings coming soon!

Past Events

Bringing Forests Home: 

About the Presentation

This talk is about uncovering your land's past stewards, its sense of place, the 3 'R's of Bringing Forests Home, major native garden types of E. North America, design and sourcing of native plants, installation of gardens, getting help, becoming an ecosystem guide, and a lot about what (and who) will come when you build all of this! Beyond the how... this talk is about reconnecting for us and fore the nature around us.

About our Speaker

"My Journey includes a decade-long off-grid lifestyle in the 1990s, honing my problem-solving skills in crafting locally impactful yet globally relevant energy solutions (while sporting an over-sized and largely irrelevant facial beard). Over a decade dedicated to ecological restoration, revitalizing forests, prairies, and wetlands, provided me with a comprehensive understanding of environmental ecosystems. 

As a consultant, I had the privilege of contributing to large-scale renewable energy projects, representing First Nation communities, and conducting a Traditional Medicinal Native Plant Inventory (the 'make you want to cry for joy every day you show up for work' kind of experience).

Transitioning this plant knowledge to urban settings, I cultivated over 250 native plant species at my home, creating a vibrant ecosystem within a village landscape. My recent initiative involved co-creating a groundbreaking 5,000 square foot "Nature Sense Ground" at a laboratory elementary school in Toronto.

Soon I will be launching an online training program called "Bringing Forests Home," a program about contributing to cumulative change through improving urban ecology in your own yard" -Ben Porchuk

Invasive Species Management in a Changing Landscape

About this Webinar

This engaging presentation discusses the introduction, spread and distribution of invasive species in general. We will go over identification and management techniques of common invasive species including some tips and tricks, while highlighting plants and forest pathogens. We will also provide a brief summary of the importance of monitoring and planning for next steps within a larger context of invasive species management.

About our Speaker

Our Speaker, Brandon Williamson, is the Land Management Coordinator for Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

He is responsible for managing over 5000 acres of land in both rural and urban environments, including active and passive CA's, wetlands, forests, flood plains, agricultural lands and urban natural areas. Brandon draws on his 25 years of forestry and land management experience, working with community partners to provide forest management, ecological restoration, risk management, enforcement, and invasive species management. As a Registered Professional Forester and ISA Arborist, he understands the importance of balancing the management of natural heritage features while fostering strong relationships between UTRCA, partner municipalities, indigenous communities, community groups, and all levels of government. 

Broadcasting the Seeds of Restoration 

About this Webinar

Broadcasting the Seeds of Restoration takes root in the preparatory steps of seed-based restoration. Seeds are foundational in ecosystem recovery. They carry the legacies of the past and act as promises to the future. Join us on this journey to learn about native plants and the process of seed collection from forecasting to broadcasting.

About our Speaker

Payton is the Stewardship and Outreach Coordinator at Thames Talbot Land Trust. She is a certified FGCA Certified Seed Collector and a native plant enthusiast. In her free time, Payton can be found gardening or crouched on the forest floor surrounded by field guides.

Bringing Nature Home

About this Webinar

With careful design, plant selection and maintenance, we can create gardens that go beyond sterile beauty conventions of past decades and deliver a life-affirming beauty that will heal ourselves and our planet. We will explore the fascinating connections between plants and animals taking place all around us and the role of gardeners in wild species and climate protection.

About our Speaker

Colleen has spent many years in the world of nature interpretation, protection and restoration, including 12 years at Toronto and Region Conservation and 2.5 years at Ontario Nature. From 2015 to 2020, she was Director of Education at the Toronto Botanical Garden. In this capacity, Colleen brought a conservation and sustainability perspective to programs, policies and practices. Since January 2022, she has worked with David Suzuki Foundation on the Butterflyway Project and native seed-related projects.

Colleen has Served on many committees and boards, including those of Ontario Invasive Plant Council, NANPS, LEAF, and Project Swallowtail. She is also a long-time volunteer with a local community meal program called Dinner with Dignity.

Long ago, Colleen completed undergraduate and Master's degrees in environment and resources studies. It was an urban tree-planting gig following her first year of university that turned her on to native plants. This obsession continues today.

Since 2009, Colleen has chaired the Horticulture Outreach Collaborative (HOC), which brings together ecologists and horticulturalists to protect native plant diversity in Ontario. The Grow Me Instead guide, now in it's third edition, is HOC's most popular initiative.

Colleen's children accuse her of loving her garden more than them. Sometimes the truth hurts.