Author: Leah Kuhne

We’re excited to share that Little Forests Durham will be part of some amazing community events this fall! Come connect with us, learn more about Little Forests, and join in the movement to bring more biodiversity and climate resilience to our region.

📅 Mark your calendars:

Thursday, October 9
🌿 Oshawa Environmental Advisory Committee’s Fall Film Night
6:30 PM | Regent Theatre, 50 King St. E, Oshawa

Get tickets here

Saturday, October 18
🌱 Heber Down Mini-Forest Planting
9:30 AM | Heber Down Conservation Area – North Entrance
5000 Cochrane St., Whitby

Register here

Saturday, October 25
🌱 Uxbridge Pocket Forest Planting
9 AM | King Street Parkette, 233 King St. W, Uxbridge

Register here

Saturday, November 1
🌱 Uxbridge Mini-Forest 2.0 Planting
9 AM | Fields of Uxbridge, 335 Durham Regional Rd. 1, Uxbridge

Register here

Saturday, November 15
🌍 Durham Climate Fall Forum
10 AM – 2 PM | Durham Region Headquarters
605 Rossland Rd. E, Whitby

Check back soon for more information on this event.

We’d love to see you at one (or all!) of these events!

Whether you want to get your hands in the soil, learn more about climate action, or connect with other community members, there’s something for everyone this fall.

A powerful new green space is coming to Heber Down Conservation Area in Whitby. Little Forests Durham, in partnership with Trees for Life, the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA) and the Town of Whitby, is proud to announce the planting of a new Mini Forest – a dense, fast-growing native forest designed to restore biodiversity, improve climate resilience, and connect communities with nature.

Mini Forests (also known as Little Forests), based on the Miyawaki Method, are tiny, fast-growing ecosystems, small enough to be planted almost anywhere land is available – parks, schools, community spaces and neighbourhoods. Mini forests emphasize the use of dense plantings, diverse locally native plant species, soil restoration and preparation, and a multilayered design to mimic the features of a native forest which over time, will create a wildlife-rich woodland.

Community members are invited to be part of this forest from the very beginning.
The first public event will be a Site Preparation Day on:

📆 Saturday, August 9, 2025
🕙 9:00 a.m.
📍 Heber Down Conservation Area, 5000 Cochrane St, Whitby, ON
🌱 Register here: HeberDownMiniForestSitePrep.eventbrite.com

Volunteers of all ages will help get the mini-forest site ready by clearing out debris and making the area ready for planting.

“The Town of Whitby is very excited for Whitby’s first official ‘Little Forest’. The creation of the Little Forest at the Heber Down Conservation Area is one of many actions the Town is taking this year towards the following action in our Climate Emergency Response Plan 3.1 – Conserve, expand, and protect natural spaces and urban forest for flood risk reduction, cooling and improved human well-being.” – Sarah Shields, Project Manager – Sustainability & Climate Change & Strategic Initiatives at the Town of Whitby.

Project Highlights:

• Location: Heber Down Conservation Area, 5000 Cochrane St, Whitby, ON
• Site Prep Date: August 9, 2025
• Number of species: Over 600 native tree and shrub species in 200 square metres
• Planting date: October 18, 2025
• Community partners: Little Forests Durham, Trees for Life, the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA), the Town of Whitby, the Region of Durham, and the Rotary Club of Whitby-Sunrise.

Click to learn more.

The Little Forests Durham project at the Fields of Uxbridge is featured in the March 2025 edition of Municipal Retirees Organization Ontario (MROO) Newsletter for Members. Excerpts below.

RETIREES and CLIMATE CHANGE

Tiny Forests : More trees please

Trees inhale carbon dioxide, of which earth’s atmosphere has too much. They exhale oxygen, fertilize our soil, and mitigate floods. They provide shade for us, habitat for birds and animals, and wood for all its uses. So, forests are at the front lines of the struggle to reduce and adapt to climate change. …

The Tiny Forest concept

A new community-scale initiative is emerging – Tiny Forests.  Here’s something we retirees can do – with our friends, neighbours and local associations – in our towns, cities, and suburbs.

The tiny forest concept is simple. Assemble a group of volunteers, clear a small plot of land, prepare the soil. Plant a variety of native trees and shrubs in a small, tightly planted area. Then watch them grow at accelerated rates into dense and diverse forest communities. Tiny forests are often about the size of a tennis court. …

Partners get it done: the Uxbridge example

The 2024 initiative in Uxbridge, led by Little Forests Durham, included partnerships among the Durham Master Gardeners, the Rotary Club of Uxbridge, the Township of Uxbridge, and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. 180 people participated in the planning, site preparation, and planting of a 200 m2 (~2000 sq ft) area with 600 trees and shrubs, including sugar maple, ironwood, and Canadian serviceberry. Green Communities Canada and the Greenbelt Foundation provided funding.

Read the full article here.