Professor Sandy M. Smith, an internationally recognized expert in the ecology and biological management of invasive forest insects for urban forest restoration and conservation, has been recently interviewed by media outlets about the invasive insect that feeds on sap.

Read more at TorontoToday.com

Click HERE for the May 2026 edition of the Mass Timber Institute newsletter.

John Ecker, Chair, Board of Directors, Ontario Heritage Trust, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Amory Ngan, City of Mississauga, forestry manager, and the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario at the April 17 Ontario Heritage Trust awards ceremony (photo by Dahlia Katz courtesy of the Ontario Heritage Trust).

City of Mississauga, forestry manager, Amory Ngan, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the Institute of Forestry and Conservation at U of T’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, leads the team being recognized with the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.

The Ontario Heritage Trust works to preserve and celebrate Ontario’s cultural and natural heritage and keep it and meaningful for future generations. The Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards recognize volunteers, professionals and organizations for their heritage contributions.

The City of Mississauga is Ontario’s first municipality to use goat grazing for invasive plant species management. In 2025, the project “Prescribed Grazing for Invasive Plant Control, Mississauga,” was expanded to cover five wetlands, woodlands and parks throughout the city. The approach combines traditional grazing with modern monitoring to tackle invasive plant species, reducing herbicide use, preventing seed spread while reaching difficult terrain.

“This recognition celebrates innovative work to protect Ontario’s natural heritage,” says John Caspersen, director of forestry programs at the Daniels faculty. “It’s inspiring to see Amory and the City of Mississauga forestry team honoured, and the impact of their work recognized across Ontario.”

Ngan accepted the award on behalf of the City of Mississauga’s forestry division at the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards on April 17.

April 29, 2026 – Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom at Robarts Library and Front Campus at the University of Toronto, St. George Campus. (photo by Polina Teif)

Many of Toronto’s cherry blossom (sakura) trees were gifted to the city by Japanese and Japanese-Canadian individuals and organizations as a gesture of gratitude for Toronto’s support in welcoming Japanese Canadians who were displaced during and after World War II.

The University of Toronto received many of its sakura trees from the Consulate General of Japan as part of the Sakura Project in 2005. But to enable their growth here, the sakura is grafted on top of sweet cherry rootstock.

“There’s a row of Japanese flowering cherry trees on Ursula Franklin Street,” explains Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, an assistant professor at U of T’s Institute of Forestry & Conservation within the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Cherry blossoms near the Daniels Building on Ursula Franklin Street (photo Nina Haikara)

“On one tree, a single branch is already in full bloom with white flowers. This branch belongs to a sweet cherry, which serves as the rootstock onto which the Japanese flowering cherry was grafted.”

“At some point, a branch from the rootstock began to grow and has since become part of the tree’s canopy. Because it is genetically distinct, it blooms earlier and produces white flowers rather than the typical pink blossoms. It’s an example of grafting and tells an interesting story about how different species respond to seasonal conditions,” says Puric-Mladenovic, who teaches courses in landscape ecology, forest conservation and green urban infrastructure, among others.

Puric-Mladenovic’s research and professional practice centre on forests within developed and urban settings. She focuses on creating practical tools and solutions that inform strategic conservation, restoration and integrated spatial planning of green infrastructure, vegetation and forest systems across urban and agricultural landscapes. In collaboration with Professor Emeritus Andy Kenney, she co-developed Neighbourwoods©, a tree inventory and monitoring protocol.

Puric-Mladenovic says weather, of course, plays an important role in bloom development. She says this year’s spring brought out leaves at the same time as buds, which is atypical.

“In cooler springs, leaves have more time to emerge alongside the flowers, which can make the display appear less vibrant due to the added green,” she says. “In contrast, a sudden warm spell rushes flower development, often resulting in a more intense burst of pink blossoms.”

The U of T researcher also notes that not all Japanese flowering cherries bloom at the same time. She says there are many different cultivars, which are varieties that have been specially bred or selected, and each has its own timing.

“There are other cherry species on U of T campus, including our native Prunus virginiana—chokecherry—which typically blooms after its leaves have already developed. Some ornamental cherries, like ‘February pink’ or ‘Accolade,’ can bloom weeks before the more familiar Yoshino cherries, so across Toronto, the cherry blossom season unfolds in stages rather than all at once; and besides the weather, different cultivars that naturally bloom at different times can also confuse people.”

Puric-Mladenovic suggests this weekend marks the peak of the cherry blossom season in Toronto’s High Park. In addition to the white blooms on Ursula Franklin Street, more cherry blossoms can be found outside Robarts Library and along the pathways of the Landmark Project on U of T’s St. George campus.

Republished at U of T News

Daniels forestry PhD student Mohd. Rezaul (“Rony”) Karim and Professor Sean Thomas made an educated guess about urban trees that grow in soils subject to all manner of insults and injuries, ranging from compaction to dog pee: namely, that these soil conditions would lead to production of non-CO₂ greenhouse gases both from the soil and, when channeled though the water-conducting xylem vessels, these gases would then be emitted from tree leaves.

Equipped with new-generation ultra-sensitive gas analyzers and a measuring system developed by U of T forestry affiliate startup company CredoSense LLC, Karim and Thomas found that, sure enough, representative urban street trees in Toronto do show greenhouse gas emissions both from the soil surface of planting pits, and from leaves. The emission rates are much lower, than, say, landfills—but the total leaf area of urban trees is hundreds of times larger, so the total effect is significant.

Karim and Thomas also examined street trees where the soil was treated with biochar, a charcoal-like material made from wood waste materials, and currently being used in a city-wide trial coordinated by the Thomas Lab (with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Alliance Mission grants program). Remarkably, trees with surface treatments of biochar showed not only reduced emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, but in the case of methane both soils and tree leaves were taking up methane from the atmosphere.

The takeaway from this research is both cautionary and hopeful: urban trees remain vital climate allies, but their role is more complex than previously thought. With better soil management, Toronto and other cities may be able to unlock even greater climate benefits from the forests already growing along our streets.

Karim and Thomas’s paper, “Urban Tree Channeling of Soil Methane and Nitrous Oxide and Its Mitigation Using Biochar,” is published today (27 April 2026) in Environmental Science & Technology.

Rony Karim with master’s student Christine Bogle making measurements on College Street.

Click HERE for the March 2026 edition of the Mass Timber Institute newsletter.

Sharing our roots: journeys to becoming a professional forester introduces some of Ontario’s new registered and associate professional foresters by sharing the personal stories behind their decision to join the profession and their experience as a professional forester so far. It highlights the wide range of backgrounds and career paths that strengthen forestry in Ontario and the value this diversity brings to the profession.

In another story, RPF and alumnus Fred Pinto (BScF 1978) and John Pineau, content and production coordinator for The Ontario Woodlander magazine, trace the origins of the U of T field camp to the Temagami forestry protests of the early 1990s.

Read the latest issue of The Professional Forester (PDF)

A not‑for‑profit, ISC prevents the spread of invasive species in Canada and beyond, helping safeguard the economy, society and Canada’s biodiversity.

Professor Sandy M. Smith, an internationally recognized expert in the ecology and biological management of invasive forest insects for urban forest restoration and conservation, received the Career Achievement Award. Smith leads innovative biological control research with 160+ publications, mentoring countless forestry professionals, including more than 65 doctoral students.

Adjunct Professor Dr. Rob Bourchier, a retired research scientist of insect ecology and biological control with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was also the recipient of the Career Achievement Award. Serving in a national scientific leadership role, Bourchier’s innovative biological control research has had a lasting impact in agricultural and range management

Joel Goodwin (PhD 2026), a researcher with Natural Resources Canada, was recognized with the Young Professional Award. His applied research has improved invasive insect monitoring, including creative trap designs and detection methods that are now informing real-world management and eradication efforts. Joel completed his doctoral work under the supervision of Smith and Adjunct Professor Dr. Jeremy Allison, with the Canadian Forest Service.

“The achievements of Sandy, Rob, and Joel represent the very best of Canada’s forest research community,” said Associate Professor John Caspersen, director of forestry programs at the Daniels faculty. “Their scientific contributions are strengthening Canada’s ability to respond to invasive species. We are proud to celebrate their well‑earned recognition by the ISC.”

The awardees were recognized at an awards presentation held during the annual Invasive Species Forum.

Congratulations MFCs on your great work!

A list of the individual presentations available:

Given by the Connaught Fund, the awards support research carried out in collaboration with non-academic community partners and driven by their needs and priorities. A total of just over $850,000 is being disbursed for the 2025-26 competition, with each project eligible to receive up to $50,000 per year for one to two years.

Yousefpour receives research program award for forest management approaches for safeguarding water resources against wildfires.

“The Connaught Community Partnership Research Program has a proud track record of supporting projects that have driven research priorities identified by community partners, while strengthening relationships between U of T scholars, community organizations and communities across Canada,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

See the full list of U of T recipients

Republished from U of T Celebrates