We believe that we can create an equitable, food secure, biodiverse, and climate-adapted Edmonton by growing and donating thousands of trees to school and community groups across the City.
Members fund 3, 6, or 12 trees per year while accessing workshops, seeds, and learning to grow trees in small urban spaces with step-by-step lessons and support.
School gardens provide healthy, fresh food while teaching kids about growing and connecting them to the natural world. Food for Thought fulfills an immediate need for healthy foods in Edmonton schools and is now looking to plant edible schoolyards.
It is essential that Shrubscriber plants trees where they're needed the most. The Tomorrow Foundation is conducting a tree count of the Queen Alexandra neighbourhood to create a data-driven approach to community tree planting and mature tree conservation.
Shrubscriber will be an essential source of trees and plants for community-driven partners. YEG Green Streets works with communities and the City of Edmonton to provide public landscaping solutions that beautify and highlight the unique identity of our neighbourhoods while building a sustainable green Edmonton.
Shrubscriber supports local tree growers. The Forest City Plants Urban Nursery Network propagates thousands of trees in Edmonton urban farms and backyards. These trees have a small ecological footprint, are adapted to the local climate, and travel short distances from the nursery to forever homes.
When you join the Shrubscriber community, you'll gain access to a growing network of local expertise, receive support for your greening goals, and attend member events, workshops, and courses.
Shrubscribers get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to go from seed to community forests. Read About Some of Our Members Feature Members.
"Shrubscriber is a goldmine for being able to bring to life the idea of a forest, trees, and permaculture to students" - Julie Kusiek, EPSB Trustee Ward F
"I am the recipient of these trees and we are so thankful for this program! My students are excited to watch the trees grow over their time at high school and many have mentioned they will come back in the future to see the fruits of their labours I will use these trees to teach some food literacy to the students. The fruits of trees on site are used within our culinary program at school and others are picked by students of Natural Science and taken home to be enjoyed with their families!" - Scott McMillan, W.P.Wagner Natural Sciences Teacher
Your membership funds trees AND community support like site selections and design. This one-two punch ensures healthy trees and the sustainability of Shrubscriber partners.
Marginalized communities often have fewer trees, green spaces, and resources - let's fix that. Shrubscriber uses urban heat island, flooding, food security, and energy poverty data to identify community partners needing trees.
Community partners are chosen based on three criteria:
Community Need
We could all use more trees, but some communities need them more, so let's plant trees where they'll do the best.
Project Sustainability
The older a tree, the greater its benefits. Three hundred years from now, we want people saying, "That's a Shrubscriber tree!"
Public Access
Trees are for everybody, so publicly accessible plantings have priority.
Members get updates on the growing and planting of trees and access to a detailed Shrubscriber Dashboard. The Dashboard is our digital status bar that reports on (1) the number of trees grown, (2) the number of trees funded, and (3) the number of trees planted.
Have you ever named a school of goldfish to realize later that you can't tell them apart? Unfortunately, growing and tracking thousands of trees is sometimes like that. So while we know that Meradith the Mulberry is somewhere in the mulberry patch, we won't be able to point her out with 100% certainty. We can confidently say that the mulberry patch wouldn't exist without your support.
The Shrubscriber community will influence the inventory of species we propagate, but the exact plants selected for community projects will depend on our community partners and their site conditions.
Tree propagation and care are the responsibilities of the Forest City Plants Urban Nursery Network until trees are ready to be transplanted within the community.
After planting, community partners take on tree care and maintenance.
Shrubscriber trees are 1 to 3 years old when we plant them and are typically 10 and 24 inches tall, depending on the species.
Small but mighty! Small trees are easier to grow and transport and quicker to establish - often catching up and surpassing larger transplanted trees. Our trees are grown right here in Edmonton, so they're ready for our winters, unlike trees coming in from warmer climates.
You can! Shrubscribers support a growing nursery network of backyard tree growers. Want to grow plants for Shrubscriber? Contact the Forest City Plants Nursery Network.
If you don't know how to grow trees, you can learn through the Forest City Plant Propagation Course.
If you have a community-minded project that can benefit from free trees and consulting, consider becoming a member and taking advantage of our growing network of local experts.
To submit a proposal for trees and consulting, send us and message.
We're in Edmonton, but we believe that food security and climate change adaptation are essential for all municipalities - the world needs more trees.
So while we're focussing on Edmonton, we'd like to grow the project over time.
You sure can! Send us an email if you would like to buy a Shrubscriber membership on behalf of someone else. Upon payment, we will share an access link with the person of your choice.
Growing trees takes time, and we want to share the journey, so we ask our members to sign up for a one-year commitment. But, we promise it's worth it for you and the trees!
Shrubscriber.com uses Mightly Networks, a platform designed to create community, host events, and deliver courses. We understand that the USD thing is a pain in the butt, BUT a future update will allow Shurbscriber to convert existing plans to Canadian Currency.