Tree planting efforts slow to branch out

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This article was published 05/05/2021 (1233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Only 990,850 more trees to go.

As part of a project to add one million trees to Winnipeg by 2040, just 9,150 trees have been planted.

Trees Winnipeg, which is overseeing the Million Tree Challenge, shared that figure on Wednesday.

Mayor Brian Bowman announced the initiative in September 2019, with a target to add one million trees by the time Winnipeg’s population reaches one million people.

The mayor said the work done so far is impressive, given that pandemic health restrictions have prevented mass tree-planting efforts for many months.

“Over the last year, to see over 9,000 trees planted during a global pandemic (and) before this official launch and public campaign even got going, really is a testament to the capacity of Winnipeggers to rise to the challenge,” said Bowman.

The pace of planting must greatly increase over the next few years to meet the goal. It may be even more challenging to ensure Winnipeggers see a thicker urban forest in some areas, since the city continues to lose thousands of trees each year due to storms, natural mortality and disease.

Winnipeg’s forestry branch removed 6,781 trees and replaced 190 trees from Sept. 19, 2019 — the date Bowman announced the Million Tree Challenge — and July 31, 2020. Updated numbers were not available Wednesday.

The forestry replacement program is not part of the challenge itself.

The city predicts it will take up to five years to reach an annual pace of 50,000 tree plantings, which is needed to meet its million-tree goal.

“Are we capable of doing that right now? Absolutely, not… We’re looking at 20,000 this year,” said Gerry Engel, president of Trees Winnipeg. “We’d like to be able to double that each year. We think that’s a reasonable approach.”

Engel noted the plantings could exceed 50,000 in some years, to make up for the difference.

Trees Winnipeg hopes to increase the progress with planting initiatives geared at Winnipeggers, non-profit agencies and businesses. Those will include a public awareness campaign and an elementary school tree planting challenge. An online tree counter tracks the number of new plantings at milliontreewinnipeg.ca

Bowman stressed the value of trees will only increase, since trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“One of the best ways to combat climate change, we are repeatedly told… is simply to plant more trees,” he said.

Dave Domke, the city’s manager of parks and open space, has estimated the challenge could cost about $43 million over two decades, with individual trees priced at between $5 and $750.

About $2.4 million has been raised through donations to the challenge so far.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga