Over 150 people attended the 11th annual County of Brant Community Tree Planting event at Rising Park in Glen Morris on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
With support from the Brant Tree Coalition, Brant Waterways Foundation, Glen Morris Horticulture Society, Grand River Conservation Authority and Glen Morris Lions Club, volunteers of all ages gathered to plant 1,000 native trees and shrubs around the roughly 3.2 acre park.
“Today we’re basically working on restoring edge habitat that was removed due to invasive species. In certain edges along the park it’s pretty much 100 per cent filled with invasive species, so today we’re reforesting it with native trees and shrubs,” said Trent Meyers, forestry supervisor for the County of Brant. “We’re also working closely with local community groups such as the Lions Club and the horticultural society to increase pollination habitat, increase forest habitat, and to raise awareness about the importance of trees.”
While tree planting events align with the County’s long-term goals, they also provide an array of benefits for the community, he said.
“The County has an Official Plan policy aiming for 30 per cent canopy coverage by the year 2050, so while we have that in the back of our minds as we plant these trees, the benefits aren’t just policy based,” Meyers explained. “It’s also important for our residents. Having a beautiful park with a good, healthy tree canopy benefits the people that live around it; it increases mental health, increases green space for people to learn and enjoy, and instills the importance of the natural world in our young population as well.”
Upon arrival, students from Paris District High School provided a short history about the park and step-by-step instructions on how to plant a tree to support healthy growth and improve its chance of survival.
Throughout the event, residents made their way around the perimeter of the park planting native species like dogwoods, tamarack, maples and oaks, button bush, a variety of willows, as well as blue ash and hackberry–to name a few.
These species not only help with erosion control and climate change, but as Sarah Muddler of the Glen Morris Horticultural Society pointed out, they also help build up the local habitat and provide for food wildlife.
“Native plants are hugely important in supporting our pollinators. Doug Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home tells us that chickadees raising one brood need to eat around 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to fledge their young,” said Sarah Muddler of the Glen Morris Horticultural Society. “And where do those caterpillars come from? The butterflies and moths. It’s all part of the food web, so these native plants are very important because they provide food for the insects. If we don’t have native insects, the invasive ones come in and those are the ones that irritate us. The native ones don’t, they’re preyed upon and kept in control if you have the right ecosystem.”
With that in mind, Muddler said that as she and the group are becoming focused on native species, gardening for biodiversity and proper practices, they’re working on something special for the organization’s upcoming anniversary.
“This year happens to be our 75th anniversary, so we are planting a big pollinator garden under one of the many trees we’ve planted in this park over the years,” she said. “We’ve gotten involved with the County to help bring out the locals and everybody’s really excited to revise this park and bring the diversity back to this beautiful setting.”
Muddler added that as a resident of Glen Morris, it was nice to see the community come together for a common goal.
Erin Cogger and Darryl Shannon, who drove in from Paris with their 4-year-old son Eugene, shared similar sentiments.
“It’s amazing,” said Cogger. “It’s honestly great to see the community come out to add to a place that we will come back and visit.
The pair added that the event was not only a great teaching moment for Eugene, but an opportunity to make memories together too.
“We’ve always been very involved in the community and that’s something we strive to pass down to Eugene,” said Cogger. “It’s nice for him to see everybody coming together, to be outside and to explain things to him like, ‘This is why you help out’ and ‘this is what trees do,’ so it’s been really great.”
“It’s also just nice to make memories,” added Shannon. “We’re trying to take note of where we’re planting, and we’ll take some pictures so we can come back and find the ones we planted, and document how he grows and the tree grows.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
