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GreenUP Ecology Park in Peterborough is home to a small section of the iconic 28,000-kilometre Trans Canada Trail. In 2025, GreenUP will be working with friends at the Trans Canada Trail to restore the tree canopy at the park by planting 12 large specimen trees and two large specimen shrubs, as well as installing educational signage describing what makes these trees so special. (Photo: Vern Bastable / GreenUP)
By Vern Bastable, director of Ecology Park, GreenUP
There is a great wave of national pride running through Canada right now. The maple leaf seems to be everywhere. At GreenUP Ecology Park, not only will there be great maple trees available for purchase at the native plant and tree nursery opening May 17, but this five-acre urban oasis also features something else that ties Canada together: the Trans Canada Trail.
The Trans Canada Trail (TCT) is the longest multi-use trail system in the world, touching three oceans and joining 15,000 rural, urban, and Indigenous communities together. It connects each one of the provinces and territories, including a section on Baffin Island, Nunavut.
Ecology Park is home to a small section of this iconic 28,000 km (and growing) trail system, as is the canopy, which has suffered in recent years.
First, Emerald ash borer killed all local ash trees, which was once the most dominant species within the park. In 2022, the historic derecho leveled many beautiful stately trees, roots and all. Then just this past March, the ice storm damaged or destroyed even more of the thinning canopy.
While this level of climate-related decline is disheartening, GreenUP is determined to replant and improve the resiliency of Ecology Park.
Adding a beautiful red to the fall canopy at GreenUP Ecology Park, red oak is one of the native tree species that will be available for purchase at Ecology Park Native Plant and Tree Nursery when it opens for the season on May 17, 2025. Native trees will be planted as part of the 2025 Trans Canada Trail restoration project in the park. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild / GreenUP)
“With recent storms and the ongoing biodiversity crisis, it’s clear that we need to act to protect the future of our beautiful region,” says Tegan Moss, GreenUP executive director.
This year, GreenUP will be working with friends at the TCT to enhance the urban forest throughout Ecology Park. The initiative will see 12 large specimen trees and two large specimen shrubs planted along the trail, and the installation of educational signage describing what makes these trees so special.
Beginning this spring, species planted will include familiar trees such as Black Walnut, Black Cherry and American Mountain Ash, as well as rare and showy Carolinian species such as the rare Cucumber Magnolia, Eastern Redbud, and Pawpaw.
In the cooler fall months, planting will continue with a large variety of smaller bareroot stock throughout the naturalized areas of the park. Species will include the famous Canadian Sugar Maple, Bur Oak, Trembling Aspen, Hackberry and Black Chokeberry.
“We are grateful to the Trans Canada Trail for working with GreenUP to restore and identify rare and significant native trees in Ecology Park,” Tegan says.
Volunteers are invited to help plant the many large stature trees along the TCT June 10 and 11, or to help with the bareroot plantings October 14 and 15. Applications are available here.
Trent University teacher candidates help arrange shrubs at GreenUP Ecology Park in preparation for the 2025 season. Students will also be helping with upcoming tree plantings along the Trans Canada Trail in the park to help restore the damaged tree canopy. Volunteers are invited to help plant the many large stature trees along the Trans Canada Trail on June 10 and 11, or to help with the bareroot plantings on October 14 and 15. (Photo: Vern Bastable / GreenUP)
The community can also participate in upcoming stewardship events, workshops, and volunteer opportunities through GreenUP’s Ecology Park 2025 Stewardship Series. From invasive species removal to pollinator garden design, tree tours to seed collecting, there is something for everyone. Updates will be posted here as details unfold.
For those wishing to enhance biodiversity at home, GreenUP Little Forest Kits are now available for purchase here. Each kit comes with everything needed to start a 16m2 little dense forest ecosystem including 56 trees and shrubs.
Each young tree tucked into the soil can be an inspiration and a source of pride. Renewing the canopy along the Trans Canada Trail links local environmental stewardship to a coast‑to‑coast ribbon of green. Whether in your own back yard or as a volunteer at Ecology Park, GreenUP believes that caring for the land is a Canadian tradition that everyone can learn to participate in.
GreenUP Ecology Park Native Plant and Tree Nursery carries a large stock of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and ferns, along with a healthy dose of friendly advice. The nursery opens for the 2025 season Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will subsequently be open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until October.
The Ecology Park Trans Canada Trail Tree Planting project was funded in part by a grant from Trans Canada Trail, along with generous donations from the community. Donations to GreenUP Ecology Park can be made here.