Chatham-Kent residents can now help "re-green" the community through a new online municipal tree donation program.
Residents can make a one-time or ongoing donation to the municipality in order to buy trees. The tree donation program was developed after Councillor Anthony Ceccacci put forward a successful motion in June to create a reserve for tree donations.
“Part of our goal in building a healthier community is to help the environment,” said Ceccacci. “We need to increase our tree cover. Trees provide so many benefits from air purification to habitat for wildlife to simply making Chatham-Kent more beautiful.”
Ceccacci's motion also follows a previous successful motion from Councillor Brock McGregor to develop and implement a tree cover policy.
“I'm excited we are adding another tool to address tree cover in Chatham Kent,” said McGregor. “We have a long way to go. Along with recent steps such as the urban street cover policy adopted, and contributions from the Ridge Landfill trust, we have an opportunity to improve our natural environment for future generations.”
Chatham-Kent currently has 3.5 per cent forest cover which is well below the minimum 12 per cent goal set out by the World Health Organization.
"[The municipality] needs urban tree cover as well as forests of one acre or more in size that often contain a greater diversity of tree types," said Randall Van Wagner, manager of conservation lands and services at the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority.
People who donate to the tree donation program will be eligible to receive a receipt for income tax purposes.
A few other initiatives dedicated to promoting tree planting and restoring watersheds include Forests Ontario, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the Ridge Landfill Trust.
