City of Kitchener and Reep Green Solutions launch annual planting program with community celebration

The trees that make up Kitchener’s urban forest are some of the most valuable features in our community, benefitting our environment and beautifying our homes and properties. As part of the City of Kitchener’s Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy, we are working to conserve and manage our existing urban forest while increasing our tree canopy to meet our goal of 30 per cent canopy coverage in each ward by 2050.

This year, we took a big step toward this goal by piloting Community Canopy: a new neighbourhood tree planting program delivered in partnership with Reep Green Solutions and with additional funding and support from Green Communities Canada and Definity Financial Corporation. Community Canopy aims to increase the tree canopy in Kitchener neighbourhoods that have lower tree cover by planting trees where residents need them the most. The program is focused on creating more equitable access to greenspace through transformative planting events, while also giving neighbourhood residents unique opportunities to get involved.

“Programs like these have an incredible impact, not only by making our community more livable today, but looking ahead to what it will look like for future generations in years to come,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “We’re grateful for community partners like Reep Green Solutions, who help us continue to bring new programs to our community that help us make strides toward Kitchener being a greener place to live, while also meeting our climate action goals.”

Based on the success of Community Canopy’s pilot year, the City is launching the program as an annual initiative that will continue to help increase tree canopy in neighbourhoods with the greatest need. Each year, we will select underserved areas based on tree equity scores and prioritize tree planting in those neighbourhoods to promote social equity, reduce heat disparities and combat climate change.

This year alone, the Community Canopy pilot program will plant over 100 new trees in the Chandler Mowat neighbourhood, where tree canopy was found to be below the City’s average. 28 large trees were planted around the Chandler Mowat Community Centre this spring, and this fall, 30 additional large trees will be planted at Laurentian Park along with 42 boulevard trees throughout the neighbourhood. An additional 80 potential planting sites were identified within the neighbourhood, which will inform planting in future years.

“Our partnership with the City is built around the need to plant trees on public and private property to reach the City's canopy goals,” said Rebecca Robinson, Director of Climate Adaptation Programs for Reep Green Solutions. “In addition to the City's tree planting in parks and along streets, Reep will be planting over 30 trees on private properties in the neighbourhood this fall, including yards, churches, and schools. This will help ensure that the many benefits of trees can be equally accessed by all residents.”

To help celebrate the launch of the annual Community Canopy program and the success of the program’s pilot year, the City of Kitchener and Reep invite the community to join them on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Laurentian Park (715 Laurentian Dr., Kitchener). Enjoy free refreshments, crafts and games for the whole family while learning more about the impact of this exciting new program. This event is held in partnership with Definity Financial Corporation, who was a founding partner in establishing the Living Cities Canada Fund through the Definity Insurance Foundation.

Learn more about Community Canopy’s pilot year on our Engage page or visit kitchener.ca/trees for more information on Kitchener’s urban forest.

For more information, contact:
Shawn Falcao
Manager, Corporate Communications
City of Kitchener
shawn.falcao@kitchener.ca