GILLINGHAM PLANTS SEED FOR RENEWAL OF URBAN FOREST

Pruning tree-planting red tape could see 10,000 volunteers planting together on Arbor Day

Investing in more city-owned trees, improving tree maintenance, and empowering volunteers to do

more planting in more places are the three branches of the urban forest renewal plan announced by

mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham today.

“While the Million-Tree Challenge and City Hall’s success at securing federal trees funding have built

momentum, as Mayor, it will be one of my priorities to build on those gains,” Gillingham said.

He highlighted four actions he would take to enhance tree maintenance and planting by city forces:

• Setting a seven-year pruning schedule for city-owned trees.

• Establishing a policy that for every public tree lost, the city should replant at least two

new trees.

• Requiring that tree protection best practices be incorporated into all construction

projects to prevent damage and loss of trees.

• Fully implementing the city’s Urban Forest Strategy (currently under development).

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While tree pruning and protection is a job for professionals, Gillingham believes public support for

tree planting means City Hall must also do more to support volunteer planting efforts:

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• Cutting red tape for volunteer planting. A Ten-Day Task Force will be launched to find

and remove barriers to volunteer tree planting. The goal is that by the 2026 Arbor Day

weekend, 10,000 volunteers will be mobilized to plant together.

• Establishing better public land planting protocols. Winnipeg has hundreds of hectares

of land owned by schools, utilities or governments. Starting in 2023, Gillingham will ask

other governments to work with Winnipeg to annually approve new public sites for

volunteers to plant on. “I will also lobby the Province for clear City-Utility protocols so

Manitoba Hydro isn’t cutting down trees by surprise in our parks ever again,” he said.

• Adding tree growing capacity. Winnipeg will contract for more space in private

greenhouses by 2026 to add capacity for volunteer planting programs.

To further demonstrate his commitment to renewing the tree canopy, Gillingham has signed the Trees

Please Winnipeg pledge. The pledge is part of a community campaign to promote tree canopy

protection and expansion, keeping Winnipeg's streets and homes greener and cooler.

Gillingham thanked Trees Please Winnipeg activist Charles Feaver for joining him for a recent pledge

signing. and offered his congratulations to the coalition’s volunteers for the ongoing success of their

campaign.

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For more information: Colin Fast / 204-803-6406 / media@voteforscott.ca

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