Tree care and education
Thanks to generations of tree-loving citizens, Calgary is a city of green, with over 1.5 million trees in our urban forest.
Did you know that over half our city’s trees are located on private land? We want to help Calgarians to plant new trees, while caring for the ones we already have. Our eLearning modules offer basic tree-care information: learn at your own pace, when convenient, for absolutely no cost.
Download quick reference guides for the learning modules:
Learning modules
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Right Tree, Right Location
Planting your own tree can be a little daunting. This course will help you choose and plant a new tree in your yard.
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Your Tree, Year Round
You've purchased a new tree, selected the right location and planted it. Now what? Our second module provides basic tree care tips and knowledge for year-round tree care in Calgary's climate
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Storm Damage, Tree Pests
Keep your investment growing and healthy: this module has basic care tips and knowledge for storm damage, and dealing with tree pests and diseases.
In-person tree education programs
YYC Trees: Guided Walks
Have you ever gone for a walk in your community or local park and wanted to know more about all of the beautiful trees you see? Join Calgary Parks for a free guided tree walk and learn some fun facts and unique characteristics about our city’s trees. You’ll find out how to identify trees in your community, learn what trees would make great additions to your own yard, hear interesting stories and more.
New this year: We are offering four historic tree guided walks where you will have the opportunity to discover Calgary’s tree history and hear the stories behind some of our historic trees. These walks are marked below with *Historic tree walk.
Walks take approximately one hour, and extra time is provided at the end to answer tree related questions.
| Date and time | Location | Sign up link |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday May 13, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Edworthy Park | |
| Wednesday May 28, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Crescent Heights Park | |
| Tuesday June 3, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Elliston Park | |
| Tuesday June 17, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Riley Park | |
| Tuesday June 24, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Central Memorial Park (*Historic tree walk) | |
| Wednesday, July 16, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Dale Hodges Park | |
| Wednesday, July 23, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Prairie Winds Park | |
| Wednesday, July 30, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Reader Rock Garden (*Historic tree walk) | |
| Tuesday, August 12, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Confederation Park | |
| Tuesday, August 19, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Marlborough Park | |
| Tuesday, August 26, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Prince’s Island Park (*Historic tree walk) | |
| Wednesday, September 3, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Bowness Park | |
| Tuesday September 9, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Baker Park (*Historic tree walk) | |
| Tuesday September 16, 2025: 6:30 – 8 p.m. | North Glenmore Park |
Tree workshops
Tree Pests & Pruning Workshops
Join Calgary Parks for an information session to learn how to identify common tree pests and proper pruning techniques to keep your trees healthy and thriving. The information sessions are approximately 1.5 hours long and feature a Q&A with a certified arborist who will offer advice and answer any tree-related questions or concerns. Space at each session is limited and the content at each session will be the same; please sign up for one session only.
| Date and time | Location | Sign up link |
|---|---|---|
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Tuesday, April 15, 2025: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. |
Ralph Klein Park Environmental Education Centre (12350 84th St. S.E.) | |
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Tuesday, April 29, 2025: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. (Session full) |
Inglewood Bird Sanctuary Nature Centre (2425 9th. Ave. S.E.) |
Pruning Basics Workshop
Not sure how to prune your trees? Afraid you will do more harm than good?
In March 2021, we held a series of workshops discussing why you need to prune your trees, the best time of year to do your pruning and the best tools to use to keep your tree happy and healthy for many years to come.
Watch the recorded Pruning Basics Workshop session:
Download the Pruning Basics presentation slides and YYC Trees: Common Pruning Questions from the March workshops.
Pests and Disease Workshop
Have you looked at your trees and noticed they aren’t as healthy as they use to be and wondered what could be happening to them? Do you think you could improve your knowledge about tree health?
In April 2021, we held a series of workshops discussing the common tree diseases in Calgary, what they look like, what treatments can be used and where to go for more information.
Watch the recorded Pest and Disease Workshop session:
Download the Pest and Disease presentations slides from the April workshops.