Whether you are celebrating National Forest Week for the 1st time or the 90th time, it is an occasion that Canada should celebrate in style! According to Natural Resources Canada, our country has 396,433,600 hectares of forest and wooded land as of 2018 (https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/statsprofile). That number is not static. It goes up and down depending on a number of influencing factors including fires, logging, insects, disease, reforestation, and more. In 1920, National Forest Week began as, “Forest Fire Prevention Week”. The biggest threat t forests during that time was forest fires, attributed to human causes. As time passed, the value forests was recognized, in many human and environmental resources. In 1967, the week was renamed it’s current title, “National Forest Week”, as a time to see the value in Canadian forests. (https://www.cif-ifc.org/national-forest-week/).
Although as Canadian citizens, we have a say in what happens to our forests across the country, we can have a great impact right here at home. Boasting the title of Barrie’s only registered environmental charity, Living Green Barrie strives to increase forest cover in and around the city through a number of projects. One project you may recognize, is our community tree plantings where all community members are invited to plant Ontario native trees at a specific site. The next community tree planting will be held on Saturday, October 26th, 2019. It will be a Spooky theme, landing so close to Halloween, so come out in costume to plant some trees and have a fun day with your family and friends! Here are a few reasons why we do what we do:
How Trees help with Climate Change Resilience
- Provide shade to keep our indoor climates naturally cooler
- Act as a filter for air and water pollutants
- Absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
- Allow for biodiversity in plant and animal species (providing shelter, food, etc)
- Prevent soil erosion along shorelines with their roots
- Help maintain mental health and well-being
- Are a resource for many products we use everyday
And the list goes on…
There has been a lot of buzz around forests and Tree planting programs in Ontario lately. The simple fact is that the earth needs trees, and we need the earth. So let’s preserve our already existing natural spaces, and continue to plant trees to increase the tree cover in our city, and do our part to become resilient to climate change.