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Pledge to Donate your Christmas Tree!

December 11, 2023

UPDATE: We have received enough Christmas trees to complete the project!

Thank you for your interest in donating your tree to help with RBG’s conservation efforts!

We’ve reached our tree quota for the year and are no longer accepting trees. Please consider making a monetary donation to Royal Botanical Gardens so we can continue to make a difference in your community through projects such as this.

In Need of Your Trees!

The annual tree collection returns! RBG needs a maximum of 2,000 trees in order to strategically place them in critical zones. Community members are asked to pre-register their donation(s) ahead of their drop-off to ensure we receive the desired amount for the project at hand. Are you up to the calculated challenge? Let your tree continue to work for nature even after it’s done its traditional duty.

For well over a decade, RBG has relied on the generosity of the public to deliver their trees to aid us in various stream-restoration projects around aquatic ecosystems. Since this project began, over 175,000 trees have been repurposed and placed into the banks of the Chedoke and Grindstone Creeks. Once placed, their branches begin to collect and retain suspended sediment which helps form a riverbank, something previously demolished by invasive Common Carp. As the years go by and more trees are added, the riverbanks become fortified and stabilized, which help channel the flow of water during high-water events. The placement of trees also helps by creating essential habitat for birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians and most importantly a strong soil bed where native plants can take root and begin to sprout! What life have you seen around the berms as of late?

Sincere thanks go out to all the people who have helped see this project through. Not only do we have the solo tree drop offs, we have witnessed individuals organize neighbourhood pickups and deliver dozens of trees, and businesses deliver by the truckload! The generosity is magnificent, and the evidence is in the wetlands. Thank you only scratches the surface, or in this case adds to it!

About RBG’s Conservation Projects

It is our mandate and challenge to protect these lands as an ecological legacy for future generations by balancing the needs of wildlife with more than +400,000 visitors who walk our trails each year. To ensure preservation of species, 20% of the property is without trails, protected within core areas called Special Protection Areas, one of a number of conservation initiatives. Each Special Protection Area has associated lookouts allowing the visitor to appreciate the vistas and diversity of life found within.