CLIMATE CHANGE ARBORETUM
Southern Tree Species Profiles
The Climate Change Arboretum is a demonstration of the changes that we are already seeing in our climate. Conservation of high quality ecological land ensures that carbon continues to be sequestered on the landscape, our crucial ecosystems and the services they provide remain intact, and wildlife has a place in our rapidly changing world. Support TIWLT’s conservation work today with a donation to help combat Climate Change through local land conservation.
The Climate Change Arboretum
Located on the Glen Elbe property near Athens Ontario, the Climate Change Arboretum is a collection of trees normally native to southwestern Ontario and the northern United States. Historically, these southern species could not survive our long, cold winters. However, our changing climate is causing shorter, warmer winters with less snow, allowing these tree species to survive.
A walk in the Climate Change Arboretum is a demonstration of the effects that Climate Change is already having on our ecosystems and a vision of the “forest of the future”. Over long periods of time these species will move northward towards our area, chasing the climate that they are made for as their current home range warms. Explore the species below to get familiar with the trees that will eventually become common sights in our forests.
The Arboretum will go beyond the trees standing on the property as well; TIWLT is building a suite of greenhouses on the property to propagate these southern species alongside native wildflowers and other plants, which will be available for sale in the near future.
This project is part of the growing Glen Elbe Learning and Experience Centre, a community hub for tangible nature education. Here you can see remnants of our local history in the stagecoach stop, once a vital stopover for travelers in the area. You can tour the 1838 house, renovated to function as a high-efficiency modern home while maintaining the feel of it’s historic roots. Then, walk our nature trail and visit the ruins of two mills that once stood at the centre of a thriving community, complete with a post office, distillery, and train station stop – now all lost to time and reclaimed by nature. If you’re lucky, you may even get the chance to sample some heritage farmed vegetables from our historic-style gardens. Contact us to schedule a visit and see history and ecology come alive!
The Climate Change Arboretum was made possible with support from the Leeds-Grenville Stewardship Council, the Weston Family Foundation, and Weagant Farm Supplies, alongside many individuals who donated to TIWLT by planting a tree and dedicating it to a loved one.
