May Lecture: The Role of Toronto’s Tree Canopy in Urban Resilience

Date: Mar 5, 2026 at 18:00
Meeting Location: Zoom Meeting

Join us on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 7:00 pm for our May lecture.

This lecture provides an overview of the City of Toronto’s tree planting and stewardship programs, highlighting key initiatives, pilot projects, and results of recent survival studies. It examines the health and maintenance of the urban tree canopy within the context of intensification pressures and competing infrastructure demands. The presentation will also explore the City’s approach to native species selection and the use of locally sourced seed stock as part of its long-term strategy for urban forest resilience.

Kim Statham is the Director of Urban Forestry for the City of Toronto, bringing more than 25 years of experience in municipal leadership. She leads one of Canada’s largest urban forestry programs, focused on planning, protecting, and expanding Toronto’s tree canopy. Kim is committed to advancing tree equity, climate resilience through nature-based solutions, and strengthening connections between people and nature. She serves as the Ontario Region representative for the Canadian Urban Forest Network, is an elected Board Member of the International Society of Arboriculture, Ontario Chapter, and represents Toronto on Parks Canada’s Rouge National Urban Park Advisory Committee. Kim actively supports leadership development in the conservation sector through mentorship initiatives, including Project Learning Tree and the Young Conservation Professionals program. She holds a Master of Environmental Studies from York University and an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Science from the University of Guelph.

Join the Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87085113902?pwd=2NfYEL0OsstvHLd3Jjbxb8Z8PHoVRm.1

Meeting ID: 870 8511 3902
Passcode: 434210

This event is part of our free monthly lecture series. TFN members enjoy advance notice of upcoming lectures and follow-up commentary in our newsletter. Not a member? Learn more about the benefits of membership now!

Please tag any posts related to this lecture with #TFNTalk so that we can all join in the conversation.

Toronto Field Naturalists wishes to acknowledge this Land through which we walk. For thousands of years, the Land has been shared by the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe. Toronto is situated on the Land within the Toronto Purchase, Treaty 13, the traditional and treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is also part of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum, a covenant agreement between Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Wendat peoples and allied nations to peaceably share the land and all its resources. Today, the Land is home to peoples of numerous nations. We are all grateful to have the opportunity to continue to care for and share the beauty of this Land.