TBM awards $5K to Tree Trust for 2022 planting initiatives

The Town of The Blue Mountains (TBM) has awarded $5,000 to Tree Trust TBM to carry out projects aimed at bolstering the town's tree canopy.

The not-for-profit, which has worked in TBM since 2020, has previously done work to preserve heritage trees and also launched a native tree nursery in 2021, aimed at cultivating seedlings from established local trees.

Council approved the funding at a meeting Feb. 1, and the funding will go towards the following two projects:

• $1,000 will go towards a tree planting event that aims to plant 100 trees on at least two publicly accessible outdoor spaces. Tree Trust will focus on strategically planting the trees to maximize their environmental and community benefits, and will work with the town and the Rotary Club of Thornbury Clarksburg to select the appropriate sites and coordinate volunteers.
• $4,000 will go towards hiring a temporary tree planting coordinator, who will implement and evaluate tree planting strategies within the town. As part of their work, the coordinator will deliver a backyard tree planting program and prepare a roadmap for implementing community-wide tree planting programs that encourage effective tree planting on private land.

TBM sustainability coordinator Nicholas Cloet said that the coordinator will test out various tree planting models with residents to determine the most effective methods moving forward.

"That [coordinator will] pilot several program models with homeowners to encourage backyard tree planting, with the end goal of recommending one or two approaches that would continue the work of encouraging and supporting tree planting and resident backyards and properties on an ongoing basis," he said.

Cloet said that Tree Trust recently lost a funding source, from the Eco-Canada Youth Employed in Natural Resources fund, which was meant to offset the costs of the tree planting coordinator, but they have re-applied for funding and developed a contingency plan in the interim.

"Tree Trust has re-applied for that funding, and according to staff at Eco-Canada they're at the top of the waiting list. We don't have a firm timeline on when a decision might be made ... [but] Tree Trust has shared with us a contingency plan that would enable them to reach the same outcomes of their original proposal."

The $5,000 awarded to Tree Trust comes from the town's environmental sustainability fund, which annually awards up to $5,000 to community groups working to improve environmental sustainability in the town.

Tree Trust was selected by town staff out of a pool of five applicants.

"Tree Trust is is an excellent organization, and I really appreciate the choice that was made by the sustainability group," said Councillor Paula Hope. "They're going to do wonderful things to help us with our tree canopy."