June 22, 2011 – Trees Ontario appointed Trustee, Steve Hounsell, as President and Chair of the Board of the not-for-profit tree planting partnership at its recent Annual General Meeting. Steve’s leadership oversees a six-member board and an organization that currently supports the planting of 3 million trees a year, with the goal of increasing rates up to 10 million trees a year by 2015.

Steve is a biologist with over thirty-six years of experience working with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the former Ontario Hydro. He is currently Senior Advisor of Sustainable Development in OPG where he manages OPG's biodiversity programs. Steve's career path has included environmental policy development and implementation, environmental assessments, and applied environmental research where his work focused specifically on the effects of forest fragmentation on wildlife. He was responsible for the development and implementation of a biodiversity policy, the first of its kind in the electricity industry. He has made many contributions to woodland conservation in southern Ontario.

Steve is a current and founding board member of the Canadian Business and Biodiversity Council and a member of the Ontario Biodiversity Council and the Biodiversity Education and Awareness Network. Steve is also the Past President of Ontario Nature – the Federation of Ontario Naturalists - and is a founding member and past director of the Natural Step Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting sustainability across society.

“We welcome Steve as President of the Trees Ontario Board,” said Robert H Keen, CEO. “His expertise, dedication and overall passion for the environment will help lead us towards our long-term re-greening objectives.”

“It’s an honour to take on this leadership role with Trees Ontario,” said Steve Hounsell, President. “I look forward to working with my fellow Trustees, our recently appointed CEO, Rob Keen, and his staff, to continue to build and grow this organization and its environmental initiatives.”

Trees Ontario also bid farewell to Anne Koven, Secretary and Trustee for over 10 years, and welcomed two new Trustees: Michael Curry, Managing Partner, Investeco Capital, and Hugh McKenzie, Chairman, Enterprise Canada.

For more information about Trees Ontario’s Board of Trustees click here.