10,000 new trees a year called for in Burlington’s urban forest plan
Published April 17, 2024 at 12:15 pm
Burlington has embarked on an ambitious tree management program meant to keep us in the shade for the foreseeable future.
The urban forest and woodlot five-point plan calls for the City to actively maintain the life-span of existing trees, increase planting and encourage residents to do the same.
Burlington hopes to increase the City’s tree canopy by 35 per cent by 2060. This will require the City to plant 10,000 new trees and restore four hectares of woodland each year.
“Our trees do much more than beautify our streets: they are critical natural assets that clean our air, cool our streets, absorb stormwater, and more,” said Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. “Trees are natural infrastructure and that is just as important as our hard infrastructure, like roadways, water mains and facilities.”
The City’s forestry experts say trees are most expensive to maintain when they are first planted as well as later in life when their health begins to decline, therefore the goal is to keep mature trees healthy for as long as possible by standardizing maintenance practices and monitoring tree health.
Other strategies include creating more planting partnerships with businesses and organizations and offering incentives to encourage residents to plant.
Videos
As well, every five years, the City will share a State of the Urban Forest Report that will measure maintenance activities and adapt to climate challenges.
City staff project that it will cost $300,000 a year over the next 10 years to implement the action items in the Urban Forest Master Plan.
For more information on the Urban Forest Master Plan, visit getinvolvedburlington.ca/ufmp
To learn more about opportunities to get involved in forestry-related projects, visit and subscribe to: getinvolvedburlington.ca/
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising