Oasis Forest: The Forest Garden
Restoration & Stormwater Research
Rudbeckia Hirta
Understory
Groundcover
Flowering Meadow
Reimagine Your Space with Tropos
Purpose
Oasis Forest
Environmental Artwork
Your Place
What You Can Do
You can restore habitat around Monument Trees. We've designed this stewardship program and aftercare plan to help Monument Trees thrive in your space. Loving your space is worth the effort! Discover the latest top research on environmental restoration, like the new seasonal calendar and curated planting guide. Join as a member for added benefits and updates on best practice.
The program is tailored for residents in Southern Ontario, but it's designed for anyone living in the Carolinian Life Zone, including much of the Eastern United States. The plan focuses on the critical period after planting when plants are taking root (typically 1–3 years), and can also be used as a guide for long-term care.
This is Your Forest Garden Plan
The Forest Garden
Tools + Equipment
$150-300+
Soil + Amendments
$300-400+
Garden Bed + Hardscaping
$250-750+
Approx. Totals
$1000-$2500
A Note on Biodiversity
Monument Trees have withstood the development of the city over 250+ years, however biodiversity in these areas is low. At Tropos we believe that homeowners can make a significant difference in enhancing habitat and helping cities meet their climate targets. We are committed to advancing ecological knowledge through making the latest research and best practices available to our clients and members.
Consultation
$300
Plants
$250-500+
BECOME A MEMBER
Maintenance + Supplies
$75-150+
As a rule of thumb, 1 inch of rain over 1,000 sq. ft. yields about 620 gallons of water
The Process
Plan for seasonal dates
Gain support from our resource team
Download Soil Basics
Download tailored Plant List
Get help with Stormwater Management design
Get trees on your property valued
Improve habitat and water quality on your property
Support with permitting & grant application prep
Transform Your Space
Monument Tree Resources
Your Place
Present
Environmental Artwork
Vision
Oasis Forest: The Forest Garden
We've designed the Oasis Forest program to make high quality design and restoration available at a range of scales, while also providing a resource for you to care for a landscape after installation. This membership is for you if you want to create a native garden or restore habitat around heritage trees, but you either aren't sure where to start, or you would like expert advice on native plant selection, planting guidelines and aftercare.
Custom Restoration
Present
Environmental Artwork
Your Place
Helping You Create Beautiful, Functional Spaces
This experience is designed to fit your lifestyle and unique space. The simple maintenance strategy we've created keeps things organized as the season progresses. It includes professional solutions, systems for long-term maintenance, a comprehensive guide to build your own garden, aftercare, bioregional basics and tailored research on companion species to restore biodiversity.
Urban scale restoration
Urban Restoration Strategy
Be a Part of Something Bigger
The Oasis Forest project, a restoration program that is an extension of Monument Trees, isn’t just about preservation—it is about transformation of the urban condition. By reframing Monument Trees as keystones of ecological planning, Tropos is proposing a model for city-building that supports the health of both natural systems and urban communities—for this generation and the next.
Tropos’ vision is to honour the legacy of Monument Trees by creating new "forest islands"—concentrated pockets of greenspace around Monument Trees that expand conservation within the urban boundary. By creating a series of thicker greenspaces around Monument Trees, conservation efforts can expand throughout the city and break down some of these perceived barriers between 'city and forest'.
“The goal is to increase forest islands within the urban boundary.” -- Lesia Mokrycke
This approach aims to challenge the apparent separation between the city and nature, showing that urban form can and should grow from ecological foundations. The Oasis Forest program provides a professional guide for landowners to enhance habitat, reduce runoff, and improve water filtration around Monument Trees.
Private citizens make up more than 60% of the stewardship of Monument Trees in Hamilton. Restoring biodiversity around historic trees is the best way to increase the longevity of these resilient native species.
Stewardship
Hamilton City Magazine
TVO
"Beautiful, monumental, and magnificent’: Meet Hamilton’s oldest trees"
Downtown Sparrow
"What Coexisting with Urban Trees Can Teach Us About Our City"
CBC Hamilton
"Meet the woman searching for the oldest trees in Hamilton"
Hamilton's Heritage Landscapes -
Monument Trees of Hamilton - Online Exhibition
Mapping the Invisible -
How do trees propagate? In the city, it is easy to forget about the important role seeds play in the forest. Seeds are our quiet companions in the city. We rake them up, drop maple keys and watch them spin and pull them from cracks in the sidewalk when they become a nuisance.
The Learning Guide is co-produced with the Department of Tourism and Culture with the City of Hamilton and Tropos. This educational resource for local teachers will help students learn about the urban forest in Hamilton. As part of the Stewardship program established through our work at Tropos, the Learning Guide introduces the core concepts of our work to kids through a series of creative activities: identifying, collecting, and protecting.
Click on the link below to download a copy for your classroom.
Are you interested in becoming a neighbourhood forest steward? Are you passionate about the trees in your community and want to make a difference?
Give us a shout at the link below:
Author and Artist - Lesia Mokrycke
Sponsor - We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts / Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien
Studio Assistants - Mae Garcia, Alex Li, Sophie Williams
Indigenous Specialist - Paul General, Former Head of Six Nations Eco-Centre
Special Thanks - Cathy Plotz at Hamilton Conservation Authority; Kathy Renwald with CBC Hamilton; the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee, City of Hamilton Culture and Heritage Department; Hamilton Culture & Tourism / Hamilton Civic Museums; McMaster University, Dept of History; CFMU; CityLAB; University of Toronto, Dept of Environment; Rebecca Rathbone; Hamilton City Magazine; Downtown AM Rotary Club of Hamilton; Our Forest; Downtown Sparrow; Justin Chandler at TVO; Hamilton Naturalists Club; Education department at RBG; Friends of Auchmar, and each member of the Hamilton community who has contributed a tree to this project.
