Events

Old sugar maple canopy at Baker's Sugar Bush, Vaughn

LEAF Tree Tenders Training
Register NOW
Sat Nov 21 10-4
Tues Nov 24 5:30-8:15pm
Sat Nov 28 10-4
This 15 hour training program is designed for individuals who want to gain tree-related knowledge and skills. If you’ve always wanted to learn more about how trees work, tree planting and tree care, this is the course for you! Riverdale Library (Broadview and Gerrard), Toronto. $50 plus GST. Course manuals are available for $10 (highly recommended but not mandatory).

The 16th Annual A.D. Latornell Conservation Symposium
Weds-Fri Nov 18-20th
Alliston ON
This is a gathering of mostly folks from Ontario's Conservation Authorities (CA's) but open to everyone. Also noticed that this year's symposium is preceded by "Groundwater & Geology: Foundation for Watershed Planning" on Tues Nov 17th

Ontario Urban Forest Council (OUFC) Annual Conference and AGM
"Tree Preservation and the Planning Process: Moving Ahead"
Nov 12th, U of Guelph Arboretum
Here's the conference programme. They sold out by the way (the good kind of sold out, I mean). If they post links to the presentations like they did last year (I'm still loving a few of those), I'll add that here. Links relevant to this year's theme: Ontario Heritage Tree Alliance and their Heritage Trees Protection Toolkit.

Three things strike me about the conferences:

1. Accessibility / cost: While I'm annually priced out of Latornell, the OUFC conference even has an "unwaged" rate. But, regarding Latornell, now I notice this (also dated) piece of information: “Are you a student registered in an Ontario university or college or an individual affiliated with an Ontario not-for profit/community conservation organization interested in attending Ontario’s premier conservation symposium? Successful grant recipients receive a 3 day registration, 2 nights shared accommodation and a special grant recipient networking session. Check out the grant application form. Applications due September 28, 2009. For additional information please contact Clare Mitchell at latornellgrant@conservationontario.ca“ ...Uh, there's a grant? Like me, you might want to copy and paste this as a reminder into your calendar for next year.

2. The speakers and presentations still work after the conferences are over: like any other AGM or conference, the programmes (both current and previous years) direct you to speakers / presenters and workshop leaders. I saw High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program's Jane Schmidt tap this vein beautifully last year when she invited a few recent OUFC conference presenters over to the park's Winter Speaker's Series, where each adjusted their presentations to fit the park and the audience. It was an excellent series and there was more time for direct questions and discussion with the presenters too.

3. My embarrassment at posting them at-the-last-minute or too late: if you subscribe to these newsletters (or follow them online), you'll have plenty of notice about these conferences, and other cool events too!

• Ontario Nature Network News. Click here to submit your e-mail to their listserve
• Carolinian Canada Coalition's free monthly e-news. Click here to submit your e-mail to their listserve, or see their archives here
• OUFC's Tree Whispers
• LEAF's Newsletter

And please help yourself to this ongoing list of events calendars too!