A few projects we have been working on at UFORA.
We started work on this Chine Drive property in 2016. We first cleaned out invasive species in the ravine and terraced the slope to reduce soil erosion and then worked on the front yard. In the front yard, there was a neglected garden with a large dying beech tree, which is still hanging on today. The…
UFORA completed the planting on the Chorley Park switchback trail in November 2018 for the City of Toronto. We lined the new trail with native trees and shrubs that will do well in the new soils and abundant sunlight on the slope. The park overlooks the Don River Valley with trails that lead down into…
A new condominium building was being built on the top of a very steep slope overlooking the Humber River. The upper slope was eroding and the lower half was a sheer shale cliff. The slope was covered with invasive Manitoba Maple trees and vines. In 2006 we cut everything that didn’t belong, used the logs…
UFORA, working with partners has planted about 20 acres at Earl Bales Park over the years. It’s been a major project of ours. We also supervised the construction and planting of the storm-water pond and the project to twin the storm-water pipes that lead to the pond. Below is a partial timeline of our work…
Here’s what it looked like after we cleared out the invasive trees, built a trail with the cut logs and planted new stock in 2008. Another view. And another. There were so many mature Norway Maples on the site that we had to choose between leaving most of them and risking blow-downs or taking them all down…
When we started the property was an abandoned garden with a large round concrete platform half-way down the slope. Much of the ground was bare. The retaining wall at the top of the hill was rotting and had to be replaced. We began planting and dismantled the concrete platform, a huge task that took a crew…
Our work at this home on Northridge Avenue, Toronto begun in the spring of 2017. The owner had the old concrete retaining wall that surrounded the whole front lawn taken away and the ground leveled, then added a layer of new sandy topsoil and had the driveway and walkways redone. We created a drainage trench…
When we began in 2006, the front yard was overgrown and neglected. We removed the overgrown plants and pruned the trees. Plantings were added. Because there were 2 large pine trees, we modelled the new garden on a Muskoka plant community. The owner wanted the view to the street blocked and asked for a grove…
This is one of our oldest ravine restoration projects in Toronto’s Rosedale neighbourhood. At the beginning of December 1997, the forest was dominated by Norway Maples growing on heavy clay soils with very little ground cover vegetation. Trees to be cut are marked with blue marks and the pink flags are spots for shrub plantings.…
Just after construction in 2006. A barren, steep slope on clay fill soil. There’s mature forest at the bottom. Construction crews cut the roots of the tree at left, and it fell over within an hour. Log terraces are installed to hold soils in place and catch fallen leaves. Spots for large tree plantings are…