With snow still lingering in shady spots and nooks and crannies, FRW's planting season got off to a high energy start in April. By the end of the month, Friends and a host of volunteers had planted more than 17,800 native trees and shrubs.

FRW's efforts focused on restoring 100,000 square metres of Bob Hunter Memorial Park (Sites A, D and E - See the attached map), and 50,000 square metres in other priority Rouge Park Restoration sites (Sites 5b, 25b, 7C, 21, 22, et cetera).

The group also created more than ten large ponds in Bob Hunter Park to provide habitat for frogs, turtles, ducks and wetland species.

Rouge Valley Public School students plant
a tree in Bob Hunter Memorial Park

The trees planted by FRW in April 2008 include:

Conifers	14,000
white pine	9,300
red pine	1,700
white cedar	2,500
white spruce	500
Deciduous Trees	2,100
sycamore	1,000
white birch	500
eastern cottonwood	600
Flowering Shrubs	1,700
pussy willow	500
nannyberry	500
choke cherry	250
serviceberry	200
red osier dogwood	200
pasture rose	50

The seeds planted by FRW in April 2008 included 20 kg of locally collected black walnut seed, 10 kg of locally collected hickory seed, 5 kg red oak acorns, 15 kilograms of native rye grass and 15 kilograms of native prairie tall grass

Planting sites in Bob Hunter Memorial Park

Thus far this spring, FRW tree plantings have involved more than 1,500 students, community and corporate volunteers, including:

• Cedarwood Public School (Markham)
• Charles Gordon Public School (Scarborough)
• Councillor Raymond Cho
• Jack Miner Public School (Scarborough)
• John McCrae Public School (Scarborough)
• Joseph Howe Public School (Scarborough)
• Maplewood Vocational school (Scarborough)
• Morningside Heights Residents Association
• Rouge Valley Public School (Scarborough)
• Scarborough Beavers and Cubs
• Softchoice Corporate Volunteers
• Suncor
• Unionville High School (Markham)
• William Armstrong Public School (Markham)
• WorleyParsons Corporate Volunteers

In May, FRW will switch from tree plantings to wildflower seeding and plantings and the placing of mulch around newly planted trees to reduce summer heat and drought stress.