What you can do with 15 metres: a teacher’s guide to tree planting on school property

Retired school principal Joe Zammit shares his experiences and advice on how to take action on climate change in your school.

How a legal loophole helped Joe plant thousands of trees

“There I stood, on the 20th of January, with snow up past my ankles, shivering in the cold, as a representative from the city was advising me where the property line of ownership lay between the municipality and my employer, a major school Board in Ontario.

There was one problem, other than the snow or the cold. There seemed to be a variance, or difference of opinion, on about 15 meters of property. Each entity, the City and the school Board, looked at the same map but were in dispute as to the true and legal property line that determined ownership between the school that I worked for and the City that had adjacent parkland to the school field. The perceived border lines seemed to overlap with 15 meters of wide open space in the balance.

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It was then and there, in the snow and in the cold, that I determined, as the old Shakespearean quote goes: “a pox on both your houses.” Come Springtime, on Earth Day, over a hundred students and I would plant hundreds of trees on that 15-meter variance of land that was in dispute. Not only that, but we would invite the local Ward Councillor, the Mayor and the Directors of the school Board for the tree planting ceremony. We would even invite the Weather Channel to broadcast a live show from our tree planting event, because when you are planting trees on a questionable legal basis, you may as well have some witnesses.

So in full confession, I used a legal loophole to proceed to plant nearly 2000 trees on “school/parkland” throughout my city. In fact, once the school trustees discovered what I had been up to after a few years of tree planting, they passed a motion in the school Board to replicate the tree plantings in over 155 school/parkland sites. Multiplying by tenfold the amount of tree plantings from my original effort.”

Planting trees (and a good idea) across hundreds of schools

“In the case of our first school site, that 15-meter variance was nestled alongside an existing woodlot. Our tree planting efforts therefore extended the size and scope of the woodlot, physically bringing it closer to our school building. Over a decade later, those young sapling trees that were planted have grown into mature trees and have provided additional ecosystems for hundreds of species, including a family of red-tailed hawks.

Utilizing school property to demonstrate environmental stewardship became a passion of mine, as I worked in different schools as a high school administrator. I took advantage of a free tree planting program as well as a difference of opinion in who owns what land. I reasoned (successfully) that with hundreds of trees planted in that 15-meter variance, by the time the powers that be discovered what I did, the trees would have matured and, given the political climate, no one would order the removal of the trees. That is exactly what happened in this case, and so hundreds of school children were given an opportunity to plant trees.”

Joe’s advice for teachers who want to set up tree planting initiatives

“For other teachers or educators, like me, who want to do something tangible for the climate, my advice would be to go for it! If my story teaches anything, it’s that you can do a whole lot with just 15 metres. 

In terms of practical advice, here are some things I learned along the way.”

Invite your local politicians to tree planting events

“At each tree planting, I wrote or called the local Municipal Ward Councillor of the area for the school. I would ask them if they could donate a tree to our tree planting efforts. It never hurts to just ask local elected officials if they would donate a tree. The worst answer I ever got was no. Their support for your efforts is invaluable, and many times the donation of a tree can become a yearly occurrence. The local representative may happen to love planting trees with young people. You can find out who your local representative is by searching the members of parliament website.”

If you do invite contributions, be prepared if they bring a mature tree

“When inviting local councillors, many responded by showing up at the tree planting event with a large mature tree that required a backhoe and workers to dig a large hole and plant the tree. Make sure you specify with them, or have the people and tools in place to plant the tree they arrive with.”

Dedicate the trees to those we’ve lost

“Dedicating a tree to someone is a powerful gesture, and helps to tie actions we take now to the lives of many other people in our community, past and present. When planting a tree, especially a big one donated by a local councillor, I would always bring a ribbon out, and we would dedicate the tree in memory of a student or staff member who had passed away. I would invite their family out for the event, so that they get to remember their loved one positively and feel like their memory lives on.”

Remember that trees are for the whole community: so invite them along

“Always consider that tree planting efforts are a local effort. People in the local area always appreciate what you are doing to improve their community. So your event should never be exclusive. Bring out as many people from the area as possible, because you are making a welcome addition to the community and to the world. Planting a tree is not just an action for today, but an opportunity for the future. I would always remind my students of how trees and our natural environment bring us together across different groups and generations.  

At each tree planting event, and over the years there were many, I would look at all of the students before they began planting the trees and I would say: ‘Today you plant a tree, but in the years to come, please bring your children, and even your grandchildren back to this land so you can show them the tree you planted.’”