MEETING LOCATION:
We will be meeting in person at Bonar Parkdale Presbyterian Church, 250 Dunn Ave, just South of Queen Street West. Arrive after 6:30 PM for refreshments and socializing, the meeting starts at 7:30PM.
We will also be holding the meeting online through Zoom. Members will be sent the link in the newsletter in the week leading up to the meeting.
TALK & SPEAKER:
Birgit Siber will be sharing true stories about the massive Red Oak in Kew Gardens. These stories include spontaneous guerrilla art projects to engage community, building relationships with City of Toronto Parks and Urban Forestry departments to care for this extraordinary tree, and successfully applying for the 140 word Heritage Toronto Plaque that now stands at the base of the tree.
The story continues, most recently, with the propagation of 144 robust seedlings from this mother-tree and the community that has come together around this endeavour.
(Heritage Red Oak tree in Kew Gardens - Native Oak Alliance)
Birgit originally comes from Montreal and has lived + worked in Toronto since 1977. She lives in the Beach area right across the street from the Red Oak..
Birgit practiced architecture for over 33 years and was a principal with Diamond Schmitt Architects until she retired in 2020. Creating opportunities for nature threads through most of her work. In 2003 Birgit initiated the first large-scale plant wall bio-filter into the design of the new University of Guelph Humber Building at Humber College. Alongside bringing the beauty of nature indoors, the plant wall improves overall building air quality. This project ushered in the use of plant wall bio-filters in many more architectural projects. Birgit also led several award winning LEED Gold and Platinum projects and was a frequent speaker at sustainability conferences. In 2019 Birgit was awarded the Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Birgit currently serves on the RAIC Committee of Regenerative Environments (CORE). In 2022 she, together with CORE initiated and coordinated a national symposium on Thriving Forests, Regenerative Built Environment in affiliation with Pilot Projects: https://raic.org/product/thriving-forests-regenerative-built-environments. The symposium brought together 24 experts to share, listen and consider complex questions around healthy resilient forests and forestry practice from a socio, economic, ecological and indigenous perspectives. The objective raise the level of the conversation and discover how architects can act together to influence forestry practice.
Birgit now enjoys space + time for many interests. These include supporting biodiversity, growing seedlings from heritage oak with the newly formed Native Oak Alliance, transforming her garden into a native species pollinator oasis, creating art, meditating and friendships.
Native Oak Alliance Flyer - Plant a very special native oak seedling!
(Download the flyer here):
