The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority wants to get 70,000 new trees in the ground by the Victoria Day weekend.
Its annual tree planting program hopes to improve water and air quality, prevent soil erosion on farms, and boost wildlife habitat.
"These trees will be going out to different types of projects," says Forester John Enright. "Some are going to rural land owners and farmers, others will be going to community type tree planting programs and school groups."
Since 1950, the UTRCA has been responsible for 10-million trees planted in the London region.
Any groups or individuals that receive trees from the UTRCA program are required to pay a fee.
"There are costs to the trees but in many cases there are fairly good grants that will help offset those costs, especially for rural land owners and farmers," says Enright. "Anywhere from 50-70 percent of the cost can be taken up with a grant of some type."
A lot of the trees being planted are considered "larger stock" trees, including a variety of conifers and hardwoods.
**This story was written by Alec Ross, a student in the Broadcast Journalism program at Fanshawe College. Alec is currently performing an internship with BlackburnNews.com
