Hi. My name is Sacha Curran and a lifelong connection to trees began with a backyard crabapple tree that erupted each spring with a stunning display of white flowers. As the petals fell, it looked like December in July!

I grew up exploring Edmonton’s Millcreek Ravine with its quiet understory of dogwood, chokecherry and beaked hazelnut surrounded by the ecoregional aspens, spruce, pine and poplar trees. While in university, I worked in a bustling nursery in St. Albert, helping people select trees suitable for their spaces. Later, as a tree planter in northern Manitoba, I planted thousands of trees in spaces that were clear cut just a few years before.

In my teaching career, the students, their families and my colleagues were all as interconnected and dependent on each other as the natural ecosystems I witnessed years earlier. Organizing and launching student leadership programs, I saw how individual actions can support and sustain community connection.

Returning to my roots with the University of Guelph’s Horticulture program, my capstone research focused on the role of community and urban forest invasive pest management. Through accessible information, this project empowers communities across the province to detect early signs and symptoms of Emerald Ash Borer and take part in a growing early warning network—deepening their role in having a care of and for urban forests and rural ash stands, the ecosystems they support, and the ecoservices they benefit from.