Volunteers plant 150 native tree species on University of Waterloo campus for Earth Day

Volunteers in Waterloo are planting the seeds for a greener future. CTV’s Ashley Bacon reports.

Tuesday marks Earth Day, an international effort to encourage public action for environmental protection.

In Waterloo, dozens of volunteers re-introduced over 100 native tree species to the University of Waterloo (UW) campus.

With over 1,900 species calling the campus home, a transformation is underway to help reclaim the land.

“We are trying to heal the forest by removing invasive species,” said Patricia Huynh, sustainability project manager at UW. “So in the past couple of years, we’ve been removing invasive common buckthorn and now we are replacing it with native species.”

The “Healing Forest” is the area on campus where 150 native tree species will be planted. On Tuesday, volunteers planted white pine, white cedar, maples, oaks and shrubs - including ninebark and chokecherry.

“It’s critically important to be a part of your community,” said Miah Siddall, a second-year student. “Do what you can to rehabilitate the spaces you’re a part of.”

“The beautification and the maintenance of our green spaces is really important,” said Harry Cheung, another student. “And just coming out here, seeing other people really also put in the work, it’s really inspiring.”

Huynh said it will be an ongoing project.

“We know that biodiversity is so large on campus and so it’s really important to restore these areas, to conserve them and just to make these spaces inviting for both people on campus [and] also the wider community.”

For volunteer, Sepidar Golestaneh, coming out to plant the foundation of a forest was written in her roots.

“My parents are both from Iran and we kind of have a very botanical theme in my family,” said Golestaneh. “Sepidar means birch tree; my last name actually means garden. My mother is named after lily pad, my sister after cedar. So we’ve kind of kept that blooming of life and abundance throughout our family tree, literally.”

Organizers said around 500 trees will be planted on campus by the end of the year.