GreenUP grew over 5,000 native plants in 2025 and supported the planting of hundreds of others. In celebration of these restoration efforts, along with newly installed tree identification signage at Ecology Park, GreenUP will highlight a few select native trees in a three-part series over the holidays.

Winter once drew a firm line through Ontario’s forests, having the final say on which species could endure and which could not. With the ongoing effects of climate change, that line is becoming less distinct.

When the cold begins to fade and spring arrives, some things may appear slightly out of place: pink blossoms on bare branches, unfamiliar leaf shapes emerging, or a species not expected to be seen this far north. These small changes don’t announce themselves as climate change, but together they hint at shifting boundaries and local forests responding to new conditions.

Southern Ontario is home to an area known as the Carolinian zone, a region that extends north from the Gulf Coast of the United States into Canada. While it makes up less than one per cent of Canada’s total landmass, the Carolinian zone supports more than half of the country’s native tree species. This extraordinary concentration of biodiversity exists at a climatic edge, where temperature has long determined which species could survive Canadian winters.

Among the tree species now appearing beyond their traditional ranges are eastern redbud, cucumber magnolia, and pawpaw — trees commonly associated with Ontario’s Carolinian forests. Each sits near the northern edge of their historical range, where winter cold once limited survival, flowering, or fruiting. These trees’ northward appearances reflect different paths to persistence, shaped by both environmental change and human influence.

With bright pink flowers emerging directly from bare branches, and large, heart-shaped leaves to follow, eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is hard to miss. Long valued for its ornamental appeal, this tree has been widely planted in parks, streetscapes, and gardens, often far beyond its historic range.

What has changed is not where redbud is planted, but instead, where it can persist. Increasingly milder winters have enabled this relatively short-lived species to survive and flower more consistently farther north, providing a clear example of how human activities and climate conditions intersect.

Listed as endangered on Ontario’s species at risk list, the cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata) is Canada’s only native magnolia tree. Known for its wavy leaves, yellow-green flowers, and distinctive cucumber-like seed structure, this tree could once be found within mature forest landscapes.

Its limited distribution reflects both a natural narrow range and sensitivity to cold, particularly during early growth and flowering. As winters grow milder, the conditions that once limited survival at the northern edge of its range may be slowly easing.

Cold temperatures aren’t the only factor limiting this species. Although cucumber magnolia is the largest of North America’s native magnolias, capable of reaching more than 30 metres in height, its growth is slow and takes decades to mature. Young magnolias are especially vulnerable to late spring frosts, and even well-established trees are dependent on stable, mature forest conditions to persist.

Together, these traits make cucumber magnolia a species defined by patience. The future of this tree is dependent less on sudden change and more on long stretches of stability, where trees are given the time they need to grow and flourish.

The pawpaw (Asmina triloba) offers a different kind of story.

This small understory tree produces green mango-shaped fruit with a soft custard-like flesh, which tastes more similar to banana or mango than anything else grown in Ontario. While not especially fast-growing in the area, the trees may take eight to 10 years to flower and fruit.

Historically, fruits from the pawpaw were eaten by large mammals that could carry and disperse the seeds across the forest. Today, pawpaw seeds are primarily dispersed over short distances by smaller mammals like raccoons, opossums, and foxes, while human planting has become an important factor in helping this species persist. Whether in yards, restoration projects or forest edges, people are now essential to pawpaw’s continued survival and spread.

All together, these trees show how Ontario’s forests are responding to changing conditions in their own respective ways.

Some, like redbud, show the immediate impact of human planting and milder winters. Others, like the cucumber magnolia, move slowly and depend on longer-term stability. And the pawpaw demonstrates how species that were once connected to the larger forest ecosystem now rely on people to help them thrive.

Observing these changes reminds us that forests are not static; they are living, shifting communities, shaped by both nature and human hands.

Visit Ecology Park to see these native tree species and the newly installed tree identification signage, funded in part by Trans Canada Trail, and featuring Anishnaabemowin translation of the tree names courtesy of Curve Lake First Nation and The Creators Garden.

You can support GreenUP’s work to restore native habitat locally by donating today at greenup.on.ca/donate-now/.

Peterborough police have charged one of their own after an off-duty officer discharged a privately owned firearm inside of a west-end home on New Year’s Eve, with the bullet exiting the officer’s home and striking a neighbouring home.

After an investigation, police arrested the officer on Wednesday (January 7) and charged them with careless discharge of a firearm. Police have not identified the officer who has been charged.

“I recognize that anytime criminal charges are laid against an officer it impacts public trust and confidence,” said police chief Stuart Betts in a media release. “We understand that we must earn your trust and confidence through our actions each and every day. This is why we have been as open as possible throughout the investigation of this incident, including informing the community of the incident and investigation as well as consulting with outside agencies and the Crown Attorney’s office prior to the laying of charges.”

Police first became aware of the incident at around 6:40 p.m. on December 31, when the accused officer attended the Peterborough police station to advise they had discharged a personal and legally owned firearm in their home. Shortly after, a neighbouring homeowner called 9-1-1 after returning home to find a bullet hole in their bedroom.

Officers attended the officer’s home to initiate an investigation and to ensure there were no ongoing safety concerns.

During the initial investigation, police learned the officer had discharged a single round from the firearm inside their home, which resulted in the bullet exiting the officer’s home and entering a neighbouring home. No one was at the neighbouring home at the time of the incident, and no one was injured in either home.

Police seized the firearm involved in the incident, and forensic investigators attended both homes to retrieve the bullet, match it to the seized firearm, and confirm the trajectory the bullet took.

Police immediately made arrangements to notify the Chief Firearms Office of the incident, and also contacted the oversees manufacturer of the firearm to coordinate a functional test and examination of the firearm.

Police have not provided any information about whether the officer intentionally or unintentionally discharged the firearm. However, police say the officer had recently purchased the firearm. In accordance with the Firearms Act, other firearms in the home have been lawfully transferred to the possession of another individual who does not residing in the home.

The accused officer has been released on an undertaking, with conditions, and is scheduled to appear in court on February 10. Police say that, under the provisions of the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA), the officer has been removed from their regular duties and has been reassigned to administrative duties pending the conclusion of the criminal matter.

“We are very much aware that there could have been a devastating outcome as a result of this incident, and we are thankful that no one was physically injured,” Chief Betts said.

Once the criminal matter has been resolved, a professional standards misconduct investigation will take place. Police say that, as the matter is now before the courts, they will be providing no further comment at this time.

Two lifeguards employed by the City of Peterborough have been recognized for their actions in saving a life while off duty.

During a ceremony on Tuesday (January 6), Lifesaving Society Ontario honoured Avery Fam and Tessa Kitchen with Rescue Awards of Merit for their response to a medical emergency outside the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre on October 6, 2025.

Both Fam and Kitchen are lifeguards and swim instructors at the municipally operated facility.

According to a media release from the city, Fam noticed a person lying on the grass near the facility’s parking lot and determined they were not breathing.

Fam ran inside to call 9-1-1 and retrieve a first-aid kit before returning to begin performing CPR on the person.

Kitchen, who was arriving at work at the same time, saw Fam providing assistance and joined her.

After the person began breathing again, the two lifeguards continued to provide first aid until paramedics arrived and transported the person to Peterborough Regional Health Centre, where they recovered from the incident.

“We are incredibly proud of these two off-duty lifeguards whose quick thinking, training, and selflessness saved a life when it mattered most,” said Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal in a statement, adding their actions demonstrate that lifesaving skills extend beyond scheduled shifts.

Stephanie Bakalar of Lifesaving Society Ontario, who said lifeguards never know when they may be called upon to use their training, commended Fam and Kitchen for their selflessness and for embodying the organization’s motto, “Whomsoever you see in distress, recognize in them a fellow human being.”

A 27-year-old Peterborough man is dead following an early morning fire on Wednesday (January 7).

At around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, emergency services responded to a residential fire in the McDonnel Street and Park Street North area.

The man was found inside home and taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) where, despite lifesaving measures, he was pronounced dead. Two other people in the home were also taken to PRHC for treatment.

Peterborough police and the Ontario Fire Marshal are investigating the fire. There will be police vehicles in the area as the investigation continues.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 ext. 555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

On Thursday (January 8), police advised that the fire has been deemed as not suspicious, and have released the scene to the Ontario Fire Marshal for their investigation.