Manitoba, Ottawa partner to plant trees

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/07/2023 (1042 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial and the federal governments are joining together to plant one million trees in Manitoba annually.

At a news conference at Fort Whyte Alive on Wednesday, representatives of both governments announced the partnership under the 2 Billion Trees program.

The federal government will put up $8.85 million, which Manitoba will match, to plant trees during the next eight years.

Winnipeg MP Terry Duguid, who is parliamentary secretary to the federal environment minister, said the recent wave of wildfires in the Prairies is due to climate change.

“That is why we need to lower emissions and protect precious habitats and biodiversity,” he said.

“One of the most effective allies we have in the fight against climate change is trees.”

The trees to be planted are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Manitoba by 52,473 metric tonnes by 2050, which is equivalent to taking 16,076 vehicles off the road.

Duguid noted the federal government has promised the City of Winnipeg it will fund the planting of 70,000 trees in the city during the next three years — helping Winnipeg rise to the challenge former mayor Brian Bowman set in 2019 to plant one million trees within 20 years.

Duguid provided details about how the project would proceed in Manitoba.

“Throughout 2023, Manitoba will focus on identifying sites, partners and preparing areas for planting as well as planting a few thousand trees,” Duguid said, “large-scale planting will begin in 2024.”

Manitoba Natural Resources Minister Greg Nesbitt noted that since 2018, the province has planted 8.7 million trees, or 1.7 million trees annually.

Nesbitt said the number will increase under the 2 Billion Trees partnership.

One of the first projects undertaken in Manitoba that was supported by the 2 Billion Trees program was in Norway House Cree Nation. The province gave Norway House 50,000 conifer seedlings, money to pay the planters and provided jobs and training for community members.

Norway House Coun. Deon Clarke spoke about the need to educate youth in Norway House about the importance of forest conservation.

“We want to continue to build that stewardship and teach our younger people how to maintain and build healthier forests,” Clarke said.

graham.mcdonald@freepress.mb.ca