Sheridan’s Mission Zero team is dedicated to improving the health of our local campus environments. We also take pride in getting the community involved and educated on the importance of biodiversity.
On Saturday June 3rd, 20 volunteers including students, staff, faculty and alumni joined the Mission Zero Team at the Davis Campus, to plant 33 trees.
During the event, two tree planting instructors from the Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) offered their guidance and showed the volunteers how to properly and safely dig and plant the trees. They also explained how to tag the trees for monitoring purposes. The event took place from 9am – 3pm and the group enjoyed a tasty pizza meal during the lunch break. The new trees were planted just outside the cafeteria along the pond and behind the Athletic Centre.
A total of 10 tree species were planted with most of them being native, growing about 8 to 10 feet tall. The selection of diverse tree species ensures that when one species is vulnerable to a kind of stress, e.g. a certain disease or unusual high temperature, the rest of the species will remain unaffected. The new trees will also help prevent soil erosion. As they mature, they will increase their ability to produce oxygen and sequester carbon dioxide. Over time, the foliage will provide shade and help cool down the temperature near the buildings, and therefore the trees will reduce the campus’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The trees will also help improve air quality in the outdoor space.
The planters spent most of the beautiful morning and afternoon near the pond and the day care centre working hard. First time volunteers worked alongside with experienced tree planters. Everyone felt gratified as they could see the visible results of their joint efforts.
Through our post-event survey, we have received a lot of positive feedback from our volunteers. Below are just a couple of examples of what they enjoyed the most during the event:
“I really enjoyed being outside and getting in some physical activity! Also seeing all the lovely trees planted at the end!”
“Watering the trees and putting mulch all around them, working as a team and interacting with all team members was great.”
We would like to thank TD Friends of the Environment for their constant support in all of our outdoors endeavors. We would also like to thank ACER for coming out and not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk and planting with us.
If you missed out on this event, it’s certainly not our last, so please stay tuned in to the Mission Zero page and show your support whenever you can!