Sustainable Outdoor Environments
Tree Planting Program
The Sustainable Outdoor Environment, Capital Development, Tree Planting Program, in partnership with the City of Toronto, bringing new trees to our school properties, is now available and accessible to TCDSB schools.
The following outlines information and criteria for schools interested in having trees planted on their property for the next Fall planting season.
Schools interested in having trees planted on their property can fill out the following form:
Schools must have a designated staff member to act as a point of contact for the duration of the tree planting project. Typically, school principals have been the primary contact, though other staff members can be the primary contact if this has been agreed upon with the school principal.
Once a request is received, schools will be provided with a Tree Planting Project Checklist, containing the same information listed in the remaining bullet points.
Schools will be limited to a maximum of (10) trees unless there are special circumstances that would allow for more. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Schools must confirm they have a team dedicated to the watering of the new trees until they have been established (typically 1 full growing season). This can be made up of staff members or parent volunteers. The City of Toronto does not provide watering services as part of this program.
Tree species will be selected based on the list of species provided by the City of Toronto. These trees have been determined to be the best suited for school environments for reasons such as they do not produce fruit, are thornless, and are tolerant of urban conditions. We will provide the list of available species to schools for their consideration; however, the Sustainable Outdoor Environments team will make the final determinations on trees to be planted based on their suitability for the proposed locations.
A Sustainable Outdoor Environments team member will coordinate a site meeting with the designated school representative to review the site and determine the most suitable locations for tree planting. A site map with the locations indicated will be provided to the designated school representative for their final review and signature/ approval. The Sustainable Outdoor Environments team will submit the finalized site map to the City of Toronto to ensure that underground utility locates can be completed along with other preparations. Once the site maps have been submitted to the City of Toronto, further changes to tree planting locations will not be permitted.
Tree species and locations must be finalized and provided to the City of Toronto no later than June 27, 2025. Please keep this deadline in mind when you are making your initial request.
Tree planting will only occur during the fall season as the low temperatures and increased possibility of rain improve the trees’ establishment and long-term survival.
The designated school representative will be notified of the scheduled planting date when the Sustainable Outdoor Environments team receives this from the City of Toronto. A team member of the Sustainable Outdoor Environments team will visit the school prior to the planting date to mark the tree planting locations on site based on the previously agreed upon site map. This location is not to be changed as the locates, and site conditions have been verified.
Tree protection cages will be installed following the tree planting and schools will be notified of the date of install for these items as soon as possible.
For any questions or general inquiries, please feel free to contact Kelly Shen at kelly.shen@tcdsb.org.