Manitoba, feds partner to plant trees

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This article was published 06/07/2023 (1039 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — The provincial and 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 Liberal 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.”

Speaking to the Sun by phone, Duguid said he expects “the Westman region to get their fair share and benefit” from the funding announced Wednesday.

Though specific agreements have yet to be signed with any Westman communities, Duguid said arrangements could be made in the future, similar to those signed with the City of Winnipeg and Norway House Cree Nation.

He said one of the goals of the program is to replace trees that have been lost due to natural disasters like forest fires, destroyed by emerald ash borers and afflicted with illnesses like Dutch elm disease.

The City of Brandon routinely culls and burns trees within its borders that have been infected by Dutch elm disease, which is spread by elm bark beetles. Trees in the city with a ring of orange paint around their trunks have been marked as infected by the disease.

Reached for comment, Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the entire province, especially the north, will benefit but expressed hope that the Wheat City will be able to get something out of the program.

“Brandon is going to want to make sure it can do everything it can to increase our tree canopy, which has gone down in the last few years,” he said.

The mayor said Brandon hasn’t been able to plant as many trees as it has lost from Dutch elm disease in recent years.

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.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from The Brandon Sun