The Holy Grail of canopy cover in urban areas was the theme of the summer school attended by Hugo, David, Meggy and Sarah, which took place from August 23 to 27, 2021. The four PaqLab members participated in the UFor program after having each received a UFor scholarship for their respective research projects.

This UFor (urban forestry) program aims to increase the number of people trained in urban forestry management across Canada. As such, students and post-doctoral fellows from Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Halifax, Gatineau and Vancouver all participated in the event.

In Montreal, the group had the chance to meet and exchange with different people and organizations working on canopy cover management in urban areas : the consulting company Habitat, the association Earth Day Canada, the tree planting company Soverdi, forest engineers from the cities of Laval and Montreal, the association Canopée-réseau des bois de Laval.

The week was filled with meaningful encounters and passionate dialogues. Great collaborations were initiated between students and professionals from different fields of expertise that requires forest cover management in urban areas (forestry, soil science, public health, hydrology, biology, social and economic sciences, arboriculture, landscapes architecture…).

They maybe not have found the holy grail, but they are going to work together to try to find the best solutions for managing the canopy in urban environment.