|
|
Trees Ontario and Local Partnership Plant Trees
as Part of 50 Million Tree Program
On Saturday May 3, Tamworth area landowners, David and Mary-Jo Field received some much needed assistance from a local community partnership to help plant 7000 trees on their eastern Ontario property.
Trees Ontario planting agency partner Steve Pitt, coordinator for the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council, arranged a community tree planting event in cooperation with Friends of the Salmon River representative Susan Moore.
Twenty-five local volunteers received tree handling and planting instruction from Pitt, while workshop partner and Trees Ontario Operations Coordinator, Tim Gray briefed the group on Trees Ontario tree planting incentive programs for private landowners, as well as some of the other work that Trees Ontario is doing to support tree planting in Ontario.
In addition to Saturday’s event, Pitt coordinated planting assistance from students from J.J. O’Neil Separate School, St Patrick Separate School, Tamworth Public School, and greenhouse volunteers from Napanee District Secondary School. Approximately 125 students planted trees on the Tamworth property.
The field property received funding assistance for their tree planting project through the Ministry of Natural Resources 50 Million Tree Program which is being delivered by Trees Ontario in Phase 1.
In August 2007, the Premier of Ontario announced the government’s decision to fund the planting of 50 million trees across the province by 2020, as part of their commitment to help fight climate change and green the province.
This is the most ambitious program of its kind in North America and is Ontario’s commitment to the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign by 2008/09.
In the first phase of the program, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is partnering with Trees Ontario to plant 1.2 million trees this spring. The goal of the program is to sequester carbon; enhance and diversify southern Ontario’s landscape; increase adaptive capacity to withstand climate change; moderate local climate by providing shade, moderating temperature extremes and reducing the effects of storms; increase wildlife habitat; increase soil and water conservation, and provide local economic opportunities.
Planting agencies will work directly with landowners to determine site eligibility, allocate funding and coordinate planting.
If you are interested in finding out more about reducing your tree planting costs, please contact your local conservation authority, stewardship council or visit the Trees Ontario website at www.treesontario.on.ca or contact our office at 416-646-1193
|
|
