Natural Resources Canada announced that NRCan’s program partners succeeded in planting 97% of the 30 million trees planned for the 2021 planting season: approximately 29 million trees from over 150 different species were planted at over 500 sites across Canada.
These projects will restore nature, enhance biodiversity, create forest ecosystems on fire-damaged land, increase carbon capture, and create parks and greenspaces in and around cities. Nearly one in every five projects was Indigenous-led.
An example of a successful project from the 2021 season is the Redd Fish Restoration Society’s (formerly the Central Westcoast Forest Society) project to plant 51,070 new saplings along the banks of the Hiłsyaqƛis and Atleo rivers in British Columbia. These saplings will accelerate the recovery of the two watersheds while also helping to restore critical spawning and rearing habitat for endangered wild Chinook and chum salmon. This project will improve water quality, increase ecosystem complexity and resiliency and the region’s ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change, and provide employment opportunities for Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.
Over the remaining nine years of the program, partner organizations will continue the tree-planting journey: from seeds to seedlings and saplings, to trees in the ground. Interest in future projects is high: the 2BT program received over 200 project applications in this second year, including multi-year projects outlining plans to plant approximately 425 million trees. These multi-year agreements will create predictable, stable, long-term demand for nurseries and others supporting the supply of seedlings, ensuring that the right tree is grown and planted in the right place.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, says: “I’m pleased to report that the very first planting season under the 2 Billion Trees program has been a success. We have achieved 97 percent of our planting target and are on track to plant two billion trees over the course of 10 years. I would like to thank our project partners for their work in making this program a success.”
The Government of Canada launched the 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program as part of its commitment to plant two billion trees over 10 years. The program funds projects proposed by public and private sector organizations and Indigenous communities.
In its first year, the program signed agreements to support planting 30 million trees. Each project was subject to a review by an independent expert panel to ensure it would help achieve the program’s objectives. Going forward, the Government of Canada is entering into longer-term agreements to secure planting over 10 years. By 2026, the program aims to plant 250–350 million trees annually, with each planting project undergoing the same expert panel review process as this year’s projects.
