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The Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (Registered Charity #777143876RR0001 / Non-Profit Entity #102084283) is an internationally recognized, accredited non-governmental organization with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). We are an environmental charity dedicated to protecting, enhancing, and advocating for Saskatoon's vital urban green infrastructure: the 132-hectare Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the 60-hectare George Genereux Urban Regional Park. Our mandate extends across the regional landscape to the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Healing Forest - located near Clavet in the R.M. of Blucher along the old Saskatchewan Highway 16 - where we lead the transformation of 5.431 hectares of degraded land into a living sanctuary of ecological recovery, community solace, and long-term stewardship. Operating at the intersection of grassroots conservation and global sustainability frameworks, we utilize award-winning heritage documentaries and international knowledge networks to bridge cross-disciplinary boundaries. Central to our identity is the One-Health approach, recognizing that human health, animal health, and the resilience of our shared ecosystems are inextricably linked. |
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The afforestation areas are situated in the West Swale Yorath Island Glacial Spillway, a sacred site in Treaty 6 Territory and Homeland of the Métis. Those who entered into Treaty 6 are the nêhiyawak (Cree), nakawē (Saulteaux), and yankton and yanktonai (Nakota) people. May our relationships with the land, standing peoples, forests, and waters teach us to honour and respect the past and invite us to move forward in harmony. May we all come together as friends, to find inspiration and guidance from histories, languages, and cultures which broaden our understanding and community collaboration for the present and future. |
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We envision a safe, healthy, and naturally thriving network of interconnected afforestation spaces and natural ecosystems across the greater Saskatoon region and beyond - where ecological restoration, remembrance, and community well-being harmoniously converge. Guided by the spirit of Witaskěwin-living together on the land-and anchored in our United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we see a sustainable future where the visible health of our forests, waters, and wildlife stands as a direct reflection of a healthy, healed, and deeply compassionate human society. |
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Global Alignment & Accountability: As a UNEP-accredited charity, we align our grassroots initiatives with international environmental standards, championing global sustainability goals while acting as responsible local guardians of our regional ecosystems. The One-Health Imperative: We are explicitly guided by the understanding that the health of people, animals, and plants is interconnected. Our projects aim to heal degraded landscapes because we know that a thriving ecosystem is the bedrock of community health and mental well-being. Cross-Disciplinary & Sector Collaboration: We actively break down professional and geographic silos. As highlighted by our award winning international webinar series and documentaries, we believe that the most resilient solutions emerge when speakers, researchers, indigenous knowledge keepers, and community members from different sectors and world regions unite to share local challenges and success stories. Narrative-Driven Education: We harness the power of media, science, and art-exemplified by international documentaries - to transform environmental awareness into definitive stewardship, passing on a legacy of place-based literacy to future generations. Compassionate Stewardship & Reconciliation: We honor the deep cultural, geological, and emotional layers of the land. From managing vulnerable urban swales to planting a memorial forest for the Humboldt Broncos, we foster inclusive spaces that support truth, reconciliation, remembrance, and collective healing. |
| "We stand in awe and wonder at the beauty of a single tree. Tall and graceful it stands, yet robust and sinewy with spreading arms decked with foliage that changes through the seasons, hour by hour, moment by moment as shadows pass or sunshine dapples the leaves. How much more deeply are we moved as we begin to appreciate the combined operations of the assembly of trees we call a forest." Richard St. Barbe Baker |