About this Bursary
The Tree Canada Urban Forestry Student Bursary is available to students in Canada who have a strong interest in and dedication to urban forestry as demonstrated by their academic, volunteerism and extra-curricular activities. The bursary will pay for travel, accommodations, meals, and registration expenses for two full-time students (one undergraduate and one graduate student) to attend the Canadian Urban Forest Conference, held every two years in Canada. The approximate value of the bursary is $3,000.
Applications should address the significant involvement of the individual in urban forestry-related education, volunteerism and extra-curricular activities and will be evaluated on demonstrated interaction with the urban forest community and related activities, formal and informal academic studies, and the quality of the reference.
Nominations for the Student Bursary are now closed. All applicants will be notified by email before the end of June. Winners will be announced publicly at the Canadian Urban Forest Conference in October.
Sophie Nitoslawski
Sophie Nitoslawski is a PhD Candidate in Urban Forestry, Sustainable Development Fellow at the University of British Columbia. Her fascination with trees and forests was cemented during one of her undergraduate courses while identifying and measuring trees in a primeval forest in snowshoes and mittens.
After completing her Bachelors in Environmental Studies at McGill University, she secured funding for graduate work at Dalhousie University, with the ultimate aim of protecting and enhancing the many benefits of our forests. Post-Master’s, she worked as an arboriculture inspector for the City of Montreal, where she gained valuable experience in urban forest program management, tree inspection and assessment, and public education for urban forestry.
She truly enjoy using her leadership skills to engage with citizens, students, practitioners, and researchers, and to develop a dialogue about the importance of green spaces and effective forest management in building healthier and more sustainable communities.
Laura Nguyen
Laura is a graduate student in Master of Forest Conservation program at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Forestry, as well as summer Urban Forestry intern with the City of Toronto where she currently leads a project to develop a comprehensive inventory of all Urban Forestry services including tree planting, maintenance, protection and planning.
She was a Nature Educator at the environmental non-profit High Park Nature Centre, where the largest urban forest in Toronto exists and was a volunteer with LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) as one of their Young Urban Forest Leaders to implement their Adopt-a-Park-Tree program, which engaged local residents with their park trees through watering, mulching, and monitoring the health of the trees.
Lastly, in 2018, the Toronto City Council passed a motion to increase tree protection in Toronto, which was led by Laura, with the mentorship of Toronto City Councillor Sarah Doucette. Motion PE25.1, entitled Tree Protection through the Committee Adjustment, includes eight actions the city can take to address gaps in tree protection.