Trees Ontario: Easy-to-keep New Year’s Resolutions that can green your world

Tired of making the same old New Year’s resolutions year after year – losing weight, exercising more, quitting smoking, etc. You go strong through January, start to falter in February and have fallen off the wagon by March. Unfortunately we can’t help you with that. So why not try something new and different this year…add something green to your list and make a New Year’s resolution that you can keep. It will make your life and the world around you better. Why not commit to planting a tree or two or three?

Why? Because nothing is greener than trees. Nothing cleans our air faster. Greens our landscapes better. And fights global warming harder. Nothing.

Here are a few “green” resolutions for your 2009 list:

Increase your “Green IQ” – Find out about how you can join in to help improve your environment. Contact your local conservation authority to learn about restoring and replanting the forests around you and the affect trees have on attracting wildlife. Visit www.conservationontario.ca to find your local conservation authority and their programs available.
Max out your property’s green potential – Landowners with over two hectares of land may be eligible for significant financial incentives as part of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources’ 50 Million Tree Program, whose goal is to plant 50 million trees in Ontario by 2020. Fill up your unused land with new forests. Check out www.treesontario.on.ca/programs for more information.
Support a “green” organization – A donation to Trees Ontario will help them reach their planting goal of nearly three million trees for 2009. For donations $250 or greater you will have access to an online map indicating exactly where your trees will be planted. Visit www.treesontario.on.ca to make your donation.
Plan a family tree planting day – This spring, many local communities and conservation authorities will be hosting tree planting sessions and are looking for volunteers to participate in a fun and rewarding day of tree planting. Stay tuned to the Trees Ontario website in January and February for tree planting events taking place in 2009.
Create a family legacy – Restore a portion of unused land and help return it to its natural “green” state. Watch the wildlife return. Your family and the community will enjoy watching this transformation take place and will benefit from it for many years to come.
Offset that daily commute – Let’s face it…we can’t always take the most environmentally efficient way to work and still manage to fit everything into our schedule. We are all commuters one way or another. So start offsetting your yearly and even lifetime commute. In one year, a single tree can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven 41,800 kilometres – that’s a daily commute from Markham to downtown Toronto; from Mississauga to Hamilton; from Napanee to Kingston; and from Woodstock to London. So, calculate how many kilometres you rack up in a year and start planting trees or contact Trees Ontario and make a donation

These tips on how to put some green into your life and province have been brought to you by Trees Ontario – Planting Tomorrow’s Forests. For more information visit www.treesontario.on.ca