Nine hundred trees, one park, and a crew of St. Clair College students ready to change the world - one sapling at a time.
That was the mission of the day for students and faculty in the Landscape Horticulture program at St. Clair College on Oct. 21, 2025, who participated in the Trees for Life campaign alongside workers with the City of Windsor.
"Anytime we have an opportunity to get out into the community and achieve course outcomes is a win-win situation," said Jason Milling, a professor in the Landscape Horticulture program. "Experiential learning like this helps the students reinforce skills and techniques that they have been taught in lab and provides community benefits to the parks."
That's exactly what first-year student Adam Olson took away from the occasion.
"Oh, are you kidding? This is going to help me, amazingly," said Olson. "I want to open my own business eventually, and this is going to be so much valuable knowledge to learn."
"I'm so excited and thankful for this opportunity as well. This is, big, truly. It's very valuable information to learn and pick up," Olson added.
The trees were planted on the northwest corner of Malden Park, near E.C. Row and Matchett Road. According to Milling, planning was meticulously coordinated by the city for site preparation and spacing to build biodiversity and regenerate a section of the park. The Miyawaki method is being utilized by planners, who are using this method to plant pocket forests to regenerate urban areas.
"The importance of relationships like this between the City of Windsor and our program are valuable to the students as they will plant these native Carolinian trees with the guidance of the industry professionals," said Milling. "Every time the students come visit the park in the future, they can acknowledge that they were involved with the outcome of the plan."
Students and faculty in the Landscape Horticulture program are joined by City of Windsor workers during a Trees for Life planting day at Malden Park in Windsor on Oct. 21, 2025. (Rich Garton/St. Clair College)
The collaboration with the City of Windsor's Forestry and Natural Areas department was fruitful for both the city and students.
"Planting dense mini forests, also known as Miyawaki Forests, is a new project area for the City of Windsor," said City of Windsor naturalist and Ojibway Nature Centre outreach coordinator Karen Alexander. "Planting nearly 1,000 small trees in one day would not have been feasible without the help of the Horticulture students. Their presence was vital to the success of the planting project."
Students and city workers together planted dogwoods, service berry, spice bushes and other trees native to the Carolinian Habitat.
Alexander said there were many teachable moments in the day, where an ISA Certified Arborist spoke with the students about his experience in the Urban Forest sector and demonstrated all the steps for planting a small tree.
Alexander also shared knowledge and information about her background and experience in the conservation field, shared details about the mini-forest approach, and why the location was chosen on the Trans Canada Trail.
"Many hands make light work, and the best learning is done on the job," Alexander said.
Olson said he likes the Landscape Horticulture program because it's a good combination of textbook learning, combined with field application.
"You're very hands-on, doing stuff. Of course, you are sitting down and learning. But I think for almost every one of our classes, we go outside and look at a tree or look at a plant or fungus and we're learning as we read," he said. "It makes it so much easier and makes it more fun."
"My knowledge base has just increased a crazy amount. The teachers here, the workers, it's just all helpful."
