Groups come together to plant 40K trees in Sudbury

Nespresso Canada and Tree Canada are teaming up as part of the National Greening Program to plant thousands of trees in Greater Sudbury this spring.

Each organization is putting in $100,000 to develop land further across the country.

Formed in 1992, Tree Canada is the country’s largest tree-planting charity.

“We took that funding and matched it, and were able to plant 40,000 trees there at the Sudbury site’, said Tree Canada’s Randall Van Wagner.

The land is a vacant lot owned by Greater Sudbury.

“It’s time to add a bit of diversity to that site so that it’ll be a more stable and self-sustaining ecosystem into the future,” said Tina McCaffrey, who deals with re-greening initiatives for the city.

The group will be planting birch, green alder, red oak, white pine and white spruce trees. Van Wagner said having a diverse range of trees is great for local ecosystems.

“It’s always nice on a project when you can get a mix in,” he said.

“Obviously there’s many benefits to tree planting -- carbon sequestration, oxygen production -- but when you have a diversity of native species, your insects and your bird populations will really benefit.”

The program also ensures that planted trees will be monitored.

“We also do three years of survival assessment after those trees are planted to ensure the success of the project,” Van Wagner said.

Greater Sudbury applied to be a part of the program and officials said it is great for the region.

“More and more species are coming into the area,” said McCaffrey.

“We’re providing more habitat for those, and of course, it does provide some recreational opportunities for residents in the area.”

Van Wagner said anyone with more than three hectares of land can apply to be a part of the program, through their website.