Addressing Climate Change:  Lend a Hand: Plant a Tree Website and 50 Million Trees and Community Tree Planting Programs

For Immediate Release
May 21, 2008

Addressing Climate Change: Lend a Hand: Plant a Tree Website and 50 Million Trees and Community Tree Planting Programs
Backgrounder

The Ontario government is fighting climate change by planting 50 million trees in southern Ontario by 2020 and an additional 100,000 in communities across the province over the next two years.

Planting large numbers of trees will:

• Reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• Fight the impacts of climate change
• Increase the amount of wildlife habitat and support biodiversity
• Conserve soil and water
• Moderate temperature extremes and reduce the effects of storms.

Lend a Hand: Plant a Tree website

The Ministry of Natural Resources has set up a website at ontario.ca/plantatree where people can tell everyone how they're helping Ontario fight climate change by planting trees.  People can visit the website and send in stories and photographs of their tree-planting events along with how many trees they've planted, as well as find information about tree planting and its benefits.

50 Million Trees Program

Through the 50 Million Trees Program, the Ministry of Natural Resources is planting 50 million trees across southern Ontario by 2020.  This will remove 3.8 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2054, equivalent to 172 million car trips from Toronto to Barrie.

Ontario’s commitment is the biggest contribution to date in North America to the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign.

In the first phase of the program, the Ministry of Natural Resources will invest up to $4 million and partner with Trees Ontario.  Trees Ontario will plant 1.2 million trees in 2008 and an estimated two million trees in 2009.

The ministry and Trees Ontario will work with agencies such as Ontario Stewardship councils, conservation authorities and contractors to do large-scale tree planting in rural areas of southern Ontario.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Trees Ontario will jointly consult with tree planting agencies and partners on how to deliver the second phase of the program.

During the second phase, as many as five million trees a year will be planted.

The program aims to build awareness of how planting trees improves the environment.

The Ministry of Natural Resources/Evergreen Community Tree Planting Grant Program

The Ministry of Natural Resources is partnering with Evergreen to plant 100,000 trees in communities across the province in 2008 and 2009.

Planting more trees in Ontario cities will improve air and water quality, increase energy conservation, provide habitat for birds and wildlife, and moderate the climate of urban areas.

Evergreen will work with community groups to plant trees on parklands, school grounds, conservation areas, university campuses, hospital grounds and other public spaces.

Groups can submit proposals to Evergreen for funding to buy native trees.  The trees will be at least half a metre tall to help ensure their survival in urban conditions.

Evergreen will host up to 50 workshops over the two-year period to build the capacity of environmental stewardship groups, social service agencies, schools and others to plan, implement and steward successful community naturalization projects.

For More Information

Media Enquiries

Doris Krahn, Southern Region, 705-755-3215

ontario.ca/natural-resources-news

General Enquiries

Natural Resources Information Centre
1-800-667-1940
TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)