Community tree planting events are a great way to bring families, community members, and volunteers together to help increase our canopy cover, promote local engagement, and increase environmental awareness. Participants have the opportunity to directly help their community by participating in a local reforestation project and learning about the benefits of trees, shade, and urban green spaces. In the last 4 years, we were able to plant over 3000 native trees and shrubs across Hamilton.
It is not enough to just plant trees but to take care of them! The first few years of a newly-planted tree’s life are important for its survival. In the early stages, they start to develop their roots and adapt to the surrounding environment. Urban trees face many additional stresses from living in the city, so they require more attention than a tree in the forest. To make sure they thrive and become beautiful mature trees, we need to ensure their survival through maintenance and stewardship! Removing invasive plant species, general clean-up, and mulching can help reduce competition with non-native species and increase survivability.