Playground and Schoolyard Revitalization Fund

Tree Planting Program

Bike Rack Program

The Tree Planting Program, offered in partnership with the City of Toronto, provides Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) schools with the opportunity to enhance their school properties through the planting of new trees.

Schools interested in having trees planted on their property are encouraged to review the following information:

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.

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 dedicated team responsible for watering the newly planted trees until they are fully established—typically one full growing season. This team may consist of staff members or parent volunteers. Please note that 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.

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 take place only in the fall, as the cooler temperatures and increased likelihood of rainfall help improve tree establishment and long-term survival.

After the application is approved, the next steps will focus on planning and preparing your school site for tree planting.

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 indicating the tree planting locations will be provided to the designated school representative for final review and 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.

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 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 approved site map. These locations are not to be changed, as the locates and site conditions have already been verified.

Tree protection cages will be installed after planting. Schools will be notified of the installation date.

Schools interested in having trees planted on their property are asked to fill out the following application.

The application deadline is May 30, 2025.

For questions or general inquiries, please contact:

Bryan Henderson
Email: bryan.henderson@tcdsb.org