Base of Operations / Base d'Opérations
Fôret Capitale Forest
Map of Base of Operations / Carte de la Base dOpérations
Forêt Capitale Forest's base of operations is located at the Just Food Community Farm in Blackburn Hamlet, Ottawa. Just Food has generously offered to provide Fôret Capitale Forest 9 acres of the Just Food Community Farm to establish a base of operations. The interactive map below shows the various projects were are working on at our base of operations.
La base d'opérations de Forêt Capitale est située à la ferme communautaire d'Alimentation juste située à Blackburn Hamlet, Ottawa. Just Food a généreusement offert de mettre à la disposition de Forêt Capitale 9 acres de la Ferme communautaire Just Food pour y établir une base d'opérations. La carte interactive ci-dessous montre les différents projets sur lesquels nous travaillons à notre base d'opérations.
Forêt Capitale Forest Walking Path / Sentier Pédestre Forêt Capitale Forest
Tracking Growth / Suivi des indicateurs de développement
Forêt Capitale Forest is a new environmental non-profit being incorporated at the end of 2020. Since incorporation, we've planted over 2,700 trees and over 100 species of native plants in the National Capital Region. We have experienced significant growth in 2022, increasing the quantity of trees and shrubs planted by almost 500%.
Dashboards such as this will be used to track our progress on projects as well as our mission and vision statements.
Forêt Capitale Forest est un nouvel organisation environnemental sans but lucratif qui sera incorporé à la fin de 2020. Depuis notre incorporation, nous avons planté plus de 2,700 arbres et plus de 100 espèces de plantes indigènes dans la région de la capitale nationale. Nous avons connu une croissance substantielle en 2022, augmentant la quantité d'arbres et d'arbustes plantés de presque 500 % depuis 2021.
Des tableaux de bord tels que celui-ci seront utilisés pour suivre la progression de nos projets ainsi que nos missions et notre vision.
Comparison of projects from 2021 (left) to 2023 (right). / Comparaison des projets de 2021 (à gauche) à 2023 (à droite).
Digital Walking Tour / Visite guidée digitale
Welcome to the Red Barn Food Forest, base of operations for Forêt Capitale Forest at the Just Food Community Farm, on the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. We use this space to carry out our research and demostration projects that aim to promote afforestation and engage communities. This food forest is designed as a purposefully wild space, where many edible trees, shrubs and perennials are planted for multiple purposes including food production, pollinator and wildlife habitat, rewilding and restoration.
Below is a digital tour of the projects and interesting landmarks found at the Red Barn Food Forest. If you are interested in an in-person tour or part of a community group that would benefit from an interactive walking tour, please contact comms@foretcapitaleforest.ca.
Bienvenue à la Forêt Alimentaire Grange Rouge, base d'opérations de Forêt Capitale à la Ferme Communautaire d'Alimentation Juste, sur le territoire traditionnel et non cédé de la Nation Algonquine Anishinaabe. Nous utilisons cet espace pour mener à bien nos projets de recherche et de démonstration qui visent à promouvoir le boisement et à engager les communautés. Cette forêt alimentaire est conçue comme un espace délibérément sauvage, où de nombreux arbres, arbustes et plantes vivaces comestibles sont plantés à des buts nombreux, notamment la production alimentaire, l'habitat des pollinisateurs et de la faune, le réensauvagement et la restauration.
Vous trouverez ci-dessous une visite digitale des projets et des points de référence intéressants de la forêt alimentaire de Serre Rouge. Si vous êtes intéressé par une visite en personne ou si vous faites partie d'un groupe communautaire qui pourrait bénéficier d'une visite interactive, veuillez contacter comms@foretcapitaleforest.ca.

Welcome / Bienvenue
Welcome / Bienvenue. Click to expand.
Welcome to the Red Barn Food Forest, Base of Operations for Forêt Capitale Forest at the Just Food Community Farm, on traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. This food forest is designed as a purposefully wild space, where many edible trees, shrubs and perennials are planted for multiple purposes including food production, pollinator and wildlife habitat, rewilding and restoration.

Grape Arbour Picnic Area / Aire de Pique-Nique Sous la Treille
Grape Arbour Picnic Area / Aire de Pique-Nique Sous la Treille. Click to expand.
The arbour in this space houses several species of edible vines, including grapes and hops. The open circle serves as an inviting space for human visitors in an otherwise wild food forest space. This area is surrounded by various native hazelnuts and perennial flowers.

Berry Lane / Allée de Baies
Berry Lane / Allée de Baies. Click to expand.
This path is designed for ‘foraging’, as it is lined with fast growing berry shrubs attractive to birds and human visitors. Keep track of harvest calendars to enjoy haskaps, sour cherries, serviceberries, blackberries and other goodies on your walks.

Apple Alley / Allée des Pommes
Apple Alley / Allée des Pommes. Click to expand.
This path is lined with a selection of less common to endangered apple species as well as grafting projects. The apple selection includes red-fleshed varieties, bittersweet varieties suited for cider and great fresh eating varieties that perhaps lack visual appeal or extended storage properties.

Nut Grove Way / Chemin du Bosquet de Noix
Nut Grove Way / Chemin du Bosquet de Noix. Click to expand.
This section of the path is lined with nut trees (large shade trees), to be under-storied with smaller compatible shrubs. While these trees take a while to reach maturity, they eventually tower and become both beautiful tall canopy shade trees but also serve as home and food for many insect species which in turn feeds a large number of bird species. Eastern North America is home to many native nut trees which produce valued edible nuts and lumber.

The Cedar Song/ Le Chant des Cèdres
The Cedar Song/ Le Chant des Cèdres. Click to expand.
As sung by Keewaydinoquay (who taught Mary Siisip Geniusz)

Lawn Conversion Guilds / Guildes de Conversion de Gazon
Lawn Conversion Guilds / Guildes de Conversion de Gazon. Click to expand.
Did you know that your lawn can be more than just grass? These demonstrations invite the rethinking of your front or backyard. They exist to serve as inspiration/motivation for others. All of them are examples of slightly maintained forest gardens, urban neighbour and pollinator friendly with less water requirements than typical lawns. While trees, shrubs and perennials reach maturity, they are interplanted with many edible annuals for immediate consumption.

Great Oak Picnic Circle / Cercle de pique-nique du Grand Chêne
Great Oak Picnic Circle / Cercle de pique-nique du Grand Chêne. Click to expand.
mitigomizh, oak, du Chêne – a strong tree to shade, protect and represent the strength of our relationships

Native Species for Biodiversity / Espèce indigènes pour la biodiversité
Native Species for Biodiversity / Espèce indigènes pour la biodiversité. Click to expand.
Native species are vital to build strong and sustainable ecosystems. Native tree species are essential in creating a healthy forest ecosystem which in turn provides many services such as preventing soil erosion, carbon storage, and habitat for native wildlife and pollinators. We afforest with native species, thereby increasing the benefits of our afforestation sites. Native tree species are best suited to the specific climatic conditions of a region. Meaning that the native trees we plant will have the best chance of survival through our hot summers and cold winters.

Seedling Structure / Structure des Semis d'Arbres
Seedling Structure / Structure des Semis d'Arbres . Click to expand.
As part of our capacity building efforts, we are establishing a certified tree seed collection team. That team will lead tree seed forays. This structure exists for potting up and housing those seeds into seedlings before they are moved into the tree seedling area. We hope these activities increase our supply of healthy, native tree species and buffer us from supply chain issues as Forêt Capitale Forest grows.

Seedling Area / Zone de Semis d'Arbres
Seedling Area / Zone de Semis d'Arbres. Click to expand.
Tree seedlings grow here. We mimic natural processes such as seed stratification to increase the number of healthy local tree seedlings available to plant. Just as in a natural forest, tree seeds “break dormancy” and begin the germination process. Growing tree seedlings from seeds of local trees can lead to more resilient trees as they are adapted to local environmental conditions.

Soil Health Living Lab / Laboratoire des Sols Forestiers
Soil Health Living Lab / Laboratoire des Sols Forestiers. Click to expand.
Healthy soils are important for tree growth as most of the nutrients needed are extracted from soil. Factors like drainage and microorganisms determine soil quality and its ability to support forests. An important component of a healthy forest floor is the soil biome, which includes bacteria and fungi. Each tree is interconnected through mycelium, the networks of fungal “threads” that wrap around roots and enable the sharing of water, nutrients and information. While many are microscopic in size, organisms in the soil account for the world’s largest collection of biodiversity.

Hugelkultur / Hugelkultur
Hugelkultur / Hugelkultur. Click to expand.
Hugelkultur (mound culture) is one of many techniques for improving soil health, creating an environment that stores water, encourages growth of healthy microorganisms and creates a microclimate through the natural decomposition process. As we are dealing with challenging clay soil on this site, we have established many hugelkultur mounds into which we plant trees and shrubs. Anecdotally, this helps accelerate their growth and means we need considerably less inputs to support trees on these mounds.

Forest Succession / Succession de forêts
Forest Succession / Succession de forêts. Click to expand.
Ecological succession is the process in which a forest ecosystem can change over time. Natural disturbances like a fire, disease and wind throw can clear a large tree canopy and the successional process will begin all over again. The presence of snags (standing, dead or dying trees) and fallen trees is an important part of a healthy forest. Standing snags help support biodiversity and provide habitat to many native bird and mammal species. While fallen trees that make up dead and decaying wood support a rich community of decomposers like fungi and insects.

Trees for Climate Change Mitigation / Les Arbres au Service de l'Atténuation du Changement Climatique
Trees for Climate Change Mitigation / Les Arbres au Service de l'Atténuation du Changement Climatique. Click to expand.
Nature-based solutions are conservation and restoration actions that help store carbon. Healthy forests help capture and sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide in the trunks and root networks of trees. Natural climate solutions offer some of our best options in response to climate change.

How a Tree Functions / Le Fonctionnement d'un Arbre
How a Tree Functions / Le Fonctionnement d'un Arbre. Click to expand.
A tree is a tall plant with woody tissue. Through the process of photosynthesis, trees can convert light energy and atmospheric carbon dioxide to “food” for the tree. Networks of tubes are found within the trunk of trees that are used to transport water and nutrients through the tree. Different growing periods occur in the spring and summer, resulting in the formation of tree rings. Tree rings are typical in temperate forest trees and can be used to measure the age of the tree.

Climate Change Adaptation / Adaptation au Changement Climatique
Climate Change Adaptation / Adaptation au Changement Climatique. Click to expand.
Climate change will lead to the shifting of plant eco zones northward and toward higher elevations. A way to adapt to climate change is to plant trees that will thrive in future environmental conditions. Planted here are species expected to thrive in future Ottawa climates.

Afforestation and Reforestation / Boisement et Reboisement
Afforestation and Reforestation / Boisement et Reboisement. Click to expand.
Afforestation and reforestation are often used synonymously. However, they describe very different forms of forestry practices. Reforestation is the process of planting trees on land that recently had tree cover. It is common for reforestation to occur after forest fires and deforestation. Whereas, afforestation is when new trees are planted or seeds are sown in an area where there has not been any tree cover.

Tiny Forest Demonstration Plots / Parcelles de démonstration de la petite forêt
Tiny Forest Demonstration Plots / Parcelles de démonstration de la petite forêt. Click to expand.
These Tiny Forest plots demonstrate the Miyawaki method of afforestation. This method is defined by several key aspects that expedite the establishment of forests.