LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada · Nonprofit · Regional · since 1996
Toronto charity planting subsidized native trees in backyards and on public land across Toronto, York and Durham
About
LEAF is a Toronto-based charity that engages communities in growing the urban forest through planting, stewardship and education. Its Backyard Tree Planting Program, run with the City of Toronto and municipalities in York and Durham regions, sends an arborist to help residents choose native trees and shrubs and plants them at a subsidized cost, with free trees for low-canopy, equity-deserving Toronto neighbourhoods. LEAF also runs volunteer plantings on public lands in York and Durham, tree planting and tenant-led tree care teams in Toronto Community Housing and Housing York communities, Urban Forest Demonstration Gardens at TTC stations, the Tree Tenders training course and youth programs. It reports more than 75,000 trees and shrubs planted in its first 30 years.
What they run
Subsidized native trees and shrubs for private property in Toronto, York Region and Durham Region, with an arborist consultation and Full Service or Do-It-Yourself planting options; municipal partners add rebates.
Free native trees and shrubs for eligible properties in low-canopy, equity-deserving Toronto neighbourhoods, funded by the City of Toronto; a one-year pilot in 2024 that became a three-year initiative.
Volunteer planting and stewardship events on public lands in York and Durham Region municipalities such as Aurora, Georgina, King, Markham, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Whitby.
Plants native trees and shrubs on Toronto Community Housing properties and forms tenant-led Tree Care Teams for long-term stewardship; the City of Toronto supplies the large-caliper trees.
Volunteer training course covering tree biology, identification, planting and care, and municipal bylaws.
Trees by type of work
| Activity | Trees | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 🏙️ Urban forestry | 11,756 | 2024–2025 |
| 🎁 Tree adoption & giveaways | 314 | 2024 |
Only figures attached to a named program count here. Organization-wide totals sit in the table below.
The numbers
| Metric | Year | Value | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees plantedto date | 2026 | 75,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | source30th anniversary media release, July 17 2026: '75,000+ trees and shrubs planted' across Toronto, York Region and Durham Region communities since 1996 (trees and shrubs combined) |
| Volunteers engaged | 2025 | 2,300 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, p.11: 'over 2,300 LEAF volunteers and community participants dedicated over 7,900 hours to planting events, providing stewardship, raising awareness and more' |
| Trees planted | 2024 | 1,672 | Backyard Tree Planting Program (Planting on Private Property) | Self-reported | source2024 Annual Report, p.4: '1,672 native trees and shrubs were planted for 567 property owners through the Backyard Tree Planting Program' (trees and shrubs combined) |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 1,585 | Backyard Tree Planting Program (Planting on Private Property) | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, p.4 'By the Numbers': '1,585 native trees and shrubs were planted for 446 property owners through the Backyard Tree Planting Program' (trees and shrubs combined) |
| Trees distributed | 2024 | 314 | Toronto Low-Canopy Neighbourhood Greening Initiative | Self-reported | source2024 Annual Report, p.5: 'we helped 77 property owners across 18 NIAs plant 314 free native trees and shrubs' during the one-year pilot (trees and shrubs combined) |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 8,499 | Community Tree Planting & Stewardship (York and Durham Regions) | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, p.12: 'LEAF volunteers dedicated 4,287 hours to plant 8,499 native trees and shrubs on public lands. We held 18 planting events' in York and Durham Regions (trees and shrubs combined) |
How they report
What earned it
- 10/20 Publishes annual tree figures: 2 years of annual figures on record (5 points each, up to 4 years)
- 15/15 Figures are recent: Latest annual figure is for 2025
- 10/10 Every figure has a public source: 6 of 6 figures link to a source
- 0/15 Publishes financials or cost per tree: No financial figure recorded
- 0/15 Reports survival or monitoring: No survival or monitoring figure
- 0/10 Independently verified figure: All figures are the organization's own
- 10/10 Breaks figures down by program: Figures attached to named programs
- 5/5 Reports volunteers or events: Volunteer figures on record
- Latest annual figure
- 10,084 trees in 2025 (+408% on the year before)
- Trees per volunteer
- 4.4 in 2025
- Compare
- Put LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests) next to others · method
Upcoming events
None listed here right now. Send us their calendar feed. Check their calendar.