World Environment Day brought forth exciting news for Canada. The federal government has decided to fund the 50 Million Tree Program after Ontario government left them out last budget.
Under premier Doug Ford, the Ontario government cancelled the funding to Forests Ontario earlier this year. However, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced the federal government’s intention to fund the program for another four years.
The announcement came ahead of World Environment Day on June 5. In all, the federal government plans to invest $15 million in the program. Like the name suggests, the mission for this program is to plant 50 million trees in Ontario by 2025. Their aim is to try and restore the delicate ecological balance of the environment.
McKenna echoed the same sentiment in her statement: “While Mr. Ford cuts programs that support tree planting and tackling climate change, we will continue to invest in a clean future for our environment,” she said.
The saplings for the program are grown in nurseries for nearly three years before they are transplanted, and come from four Ontario nurseries who supply nearly 2.5 million saplings every year. So far, around 27 million trees have been planted since the program’s inception in 2008.
For landowners, benefits from planting trees include increasing property value, providing wildlife habitat, and improving soil health and water quality, while increasing forest cover in the province and helping to reduce climate change. To learn more about the 50 Million Tree Program, visit their website.
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