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Humber Arboretum Strategic Plan 2019-2024

Whether you are a new student, a long-time member of the local community, or a representative of one of the Arboretum's partners, we encourage you to seek out your own place within this plan and identify opportunities where we can work together to develop world-ready citizens, bolster community health and well-being, and create a more sustainable planet.

Strategic Priorities and Initiatives

 

World-Ready Citizens

Students help install a bird box on a post

Through our leadership in nature-based experiential learning, we develop global citizens with the mindsets, knowledge, and skills to support their success and well-being and the health of the planet.

Strategic Initiatives:

  • Work with interdisciplinary teams to develop academic programs and courses at Humber College that connect with the Humber Arboretum
  • Create a Master Plan that connects with Humber College's campus land-use planning process for academic and on-academic purposes
  • Expand the value and availability of meaningful experiential learning opportunities connected with the Humber Arboretum 

Healthy Communities

A young man works in a veggie garden

Through our strong partnerships and contributions to bettering the socio-economic determinants of health, we advance community health and well-being.

Strategic Initiatives:

  • Partner in local and global movements to inspire a love of nature for the well-being of people and the planet
  • Support Humber College in its implementation of the Okanagan Charter through promotion of human and environmental well-being, both locally and globally
  • Enable safer, more accessible, and more user-friendly navigation to, and throughout, our natural spaces for our community members by creating a wayfinding and signage plan that harmonizes with Humber College's Campus Plan and the City of Toronto's Parks, Forestry and Recreation department's Signage Strategy
  • Increase participation in Humber Arboretum programs for our local schools and neighbouring communities through the implementation of strategies and partnerships

Thriving Nature

A yellow warbler sings in a tree

Through our integration of protection, care, and community engagement, we bolster the health of our ecosystems and natural inhabitants.

Strategic Initiatives

  • Demonstrate national leadership in sustainability by becoming the first College or University campus in Canada to be an Arboretum and Public Garden
  • Leverage the tripartite partnership between the City of Toronto, Humber College, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to enhance eco-system management within the Humber Arboretum
  • Create opportunities for our local community and Humber College students to be involved in the stewardship of natural systems
  • Enhance the natural functions of the Humber Pond and associated wetland while also creating living laboratory spaces, an outdoor classroom, social gathering spaces, and wildlife habitats

The Strategic Planning Process 

Focus group participants listen to a facilitator

During the fall of 2018 over 270 individuals shared their ideas and opinions about the future of the Humber Arboretum through focus groups, interviews, and an online survey. The Strategic Plan Steering Committee and its working groups combined this feedback with information gained through an environmental scan and one-on-one interviews with a variety of experts. After many months of in-depth analysis and reflection, the Humber Arboretum Strategic Plan was officially launched in September 2019.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this process. We truly value your time and your thoughtful, passionate feedback.

Read the Humber Arboretum Strategic Planning Engagement Report (PDF) for a summary of the process and the feedback received.

Four partners from the Humber Arboretum stand around a tree, shovels in hand

Strategic Plan Launch Celebration and Tree Planting Ceremony

On September 23, 2019 the Humber Arboretum hosted an event to officially launch the 2019-2024 Strategic Plan, which included hors d'oeuvres and music provided by Humber College students and a symbolic tree planting ceremony.

The tree selected was a paper birch (Betula papyrifera) with three trunks, to represent the three partners of the Humber Arboretum - Humber College, the City of Toronto, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

Thank you to all who came out to celebrate with us.

 

A plaque on a stone acknowledges the launch of the Humber Arboretum's new stated vision