Back to SearchKitchener’s trees are a precious natural resource that benefit and enrich our neighbourhoods and community, but they require active stewardship. The City of Kitchener takes that stewardship seriously, and we want to grow our tree canopy - the layer of branches, leaves, and stems that cover the ground when viewed from above.
That’s why we’re developing a tree canopy target, a minimum goal for how much of our community will be covered by trees. We want to share some of the strategies we might implement to work toward this target and hear what you think. Your feedback will be used to help us establish our goal.
Should we focus on protecting our existing trees? Should we focus on planting new trees? How should we partner with private property owners to increase tree coverage on private property? To learn more and to prioritize what approaches you think would work best visit engagewr.ca/treecanopytarget.
Your feedback will be used together with our Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy to establish a tree canopy target for Kitchener.
Potential strategies to achieve a canopy target include:
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Planting trees in the right places.
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Increased maintenance in targeted neighbourhoods to keep older trees alive longer.
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Identify locations where trees are in decline to implement removal and replacement programs to replace tree canopy before it is completely lost.
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Support specific neighbourhoods that require tree planting on private property where the ability to gain/grow tree canopy is highest (i.e. private property can often provide available planting space for more trees).
Setting a tree canopy target was identified in Kitchener’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan as one of the ways the City will demonstrate environmental leadership. Read more about our tree canopy and complete the survey at engagewr.ca/TreeCanopyTarget.
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