Halton Hills council unanimously supports Credit Valley Conservation’s tree planting projects

By Fatima Raza, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca

Halton Hills council has unanimously approved a motion to support a tree planting initiative in collaboration with Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), aiming to enhance the community’s green spaces and align with its vision of becoming a nature-rich community.

The motion, moved by Coun. Clark Somerville and seconded by Coun. Ron Norris, highlights the goal of Halton Hills to become a nature-rich community, as outlined in the Strategic Plan, by enhancing the town’s tree canopy in the Credit Valley watershed area.

According to the motion, planting trees across the Sliver Creek and Black Creek Subwatersheds, on both public and private property, will “provide many benefits to residents.”

These benefits include increased environmental awareness, forest cover and biodiversity, improved soil and water conservation, wildlife habitat and climate change adaptation and resiliency, the motion adds.

“This was an easy motion for me to second,” said Norris during council’s Monday night meeting. He said he is pleased there are plans to plant more than 1,200 trees at no cost to Halton Hills.

The trees will be planted in various locations, such as old farmland, areas near rivers and forests needing restoration due to pests or diseases. The town will work with CVC to decide where to plant trees on town-owned land and encourage tree planting on private properties.

“We’re going to be getting federal funding from this and the funding goes directly back into Halton Hills, so this was an easy motion for me to support and I hope that’s the same for all of us,” he added before the voting took place.

The passed motion will now support CVC’s funding application to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Growing Canada’s Community Canopies initiative for three tree-planting projects in Halton Hills.

These projects include the Forestry Rural Tree Planting Project, which aims to plant 500 trees on private rural properties; the Community Stewardship Tree Planting Project, which aims to plant 675 trees on town-owned lands; and the Urban Home Planting Project, which aims to plant 100 trees on private urban properties.

Additionally, council recognized the total funding from this initiative will not exceed $10 million, with a maximum of $1 million for infrastructure activity costs.