Vancouver Park Board to plant 150,000 trees by 2020

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Vancouver should look a lot more green by 2020.

The Park Board is working on planting 150,000 trees all over the city.

Park planner Lindsay Cole says it’s all a part of Vancouver’s goal to be the greenest city by 2020. If all goes well, you’ll find them sprinkled in areas that are currently more grey than green, or “tree deficient.”

“In this pilot phase [trees will be planted in] Renfrew-Collingwood, Mount Pleasant, Grandview-Woodlands, the West End, Marpole, and the Downtown Eastside,” outlines Cole.

Since space is limited, the arbors won’t just be located on city-owned land – some may be in your front yard.

“The remaining one-third needs to go to private property because we just simply don’t have the space to plant that many trees in the city,” explains Cole.

The park board is still working on the plan, which may subsidize the cost of trees for homeowners and interested businesses.

“We haven’t worked it out… what the cost might be for an individual home owner or a strata or a business,” she admits. “But we’re probably going to try a few different things to see what works the best.”

“Some programs have tried giving trees away, and some require home owners to put a little bit of ‘skin in the game,’ so to speak, to make sure they are committed to taking care of the tree. It’s not a cost-covering thing, but it shows a different level of commitment,” adds Cole.

She tells us there are several reasons why trees will benefit the city.  “They are beautiful, [they] add aesthetic value to the city, [and they] provide habitat homes and shade us.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today