Have land? Let’s plant trees for a better tomorrow

The Niagara Peninsula Tree Planting Partnership (NPTPP) invites private landowners to join collective efforts to bring millions of trees to the Niagara Peninsula watershed, in support of Canada’s goal of planting two billion trees.

The Government of Canada recently launched its ‘2 Billion Trees’ program which seeks to collaborate with partners on long-term agreements to reach this goal together. As such, community groups, environmental agencies, and governmental organizations in the Niagara Peninsula watershed have joined to create the NPTPP, with the common interest of restoring natural habitats and biodiversity, increasing tree canopy, cooling urban centres, and supporting green jobs.

The Niagara Peninsula watershed is known as a natural wonder with many environmental assets and unique phenomena and is situated between two Great Lakes. It is the most biodiverse but also threatened ecoregion in all of Canada, part of the Carolinian Zone, and home to globally significant ecosystems, 40 per cent of Canada’s species, and more than 150 species at risk. However, the landscape currently only contributes an estimated 56 per cent of the minimum required for healthy and viable ecosystems.

One of the earliest conservation efforts to help mitigate watershed-scale problems such as erosion, flooding, and decades of poor land and water, was planting trees to restore forests. Restoration efforts have since progressed to understand that involving communities leads to better outcomes and helps shape perspectives on caring for the environment.

The NPTPP’s new Trees For All initiative for the Niagara Peninsula watershed will engage private landowners from Niagara, Haldimand, and Hamilton, to build the capacity necessary to participate in the Government of Canada’s national tree program, and collectively deliver a local, long-term tree planting plan for impactful and measured results.

The goal today is simple. Private landowners are encouraged to express their interest and register their property for potential consideration in future tree plantings. This first data-gathering phase solely aims to gauge landowner interest to help shape the future of the Trees For All program, with no obligation.

“The opportunity to implement nature-based climate solutions towards enhancing our unique forest and urban tree canopy with support from the Government of Canada is significant,” says Chandra Sharma, Chief Administrative Officer at NPCA. “The Trees For All initiative will help strengthen our existing commitments to enhance natural areas and address climate impacts in the Niagara Peninsula watershed. Because so much land is privately owned, future large-scale reforestation projects will incentivize landowners to participate in tree-plantings.”

Private landowners are asked to visit Get Involved NPCA portal to learn more and proceed with registration. This portal is home to important documents for interested participants, a project timeline on this exciting initiative, a confidential mapping tool to register interest and pin locations, and great online engagement tools to provide feedback and share stories and ideas.

For more information about the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, visit www.npca.ca. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more updates.