COURTNEY McCLURE,
The Standard
NORTH DURHAM: Durham Region has five local conservation authorities spread throughout the region. These five conservation authorities joined together to create TREES.
TREES is a subsidized tree planting program for private landowners. These landowners must be willing to fill at least two acres, with a minimum of 500 tree saplings.
If your property has about 0.8 hectares or more, TREES can help you start a new forest. Even if you don’t qualify for this program, TREES asks you to contact them to discuss other available tree planting programs.
Your property must also be located within one of the five conservation areas which make up TREES. These are Central Lake Ontario, Ganaraska Region, Kawartha Lakes, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Simcoe Region conservation areas.
TREES’ plantation program offers full planting services, native seedlings and up to 85 percent of the funding for allowed projects. Depending on your land, the tree seedlings will be planted by hand or machine.
The goal of this “climate action initiative” is to provide environmental management, protection and enhancement through increasing forest coverage throughout the Region by at least 30 percent.
The funding for TREES comes from Durham Region and various conservation partners.
TREES provides seedlings for planting. The tree seedlings are about 2-4 years old and are also about 20 to 30 centimetres tall.
When you’re starting a forest, TREES recommends planting conifers first. They are hardier, and, as they grow, they create an easier environment for other species of tree.
It takes about fifty years for a forest-based on conifer trees to diversify. And it takes about one hundred years, partnered with excellent forest management, for the plantation to reach a blend of coniferous and deciduous trees.
“The investment you are making today will benefit you but will be an even greater benefit to future generations!” stated TREES.
A few conifer species provided through the program include white spruce, white cedar and tamarack. Examples of available species of deciduous trees include sugar maple, burr oak and hackberry.
Starting a tree plantation project can increase your property’s value, and provides you with the opportunity to apply for a property tax credit and more.
For more information about TREES and how to access their planting program, please visit their website at durhamtrees.org.