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OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO TONNES FOR TREES
The Tonnes for Trees
project is being inundated
with pledges to reduce personal
greenhouse gas emissions
in return for free trees.
The project was officially
launched on February 28th at
a ceremony at Hamilton City
Hall with an objective of convincing
Hamiltonians to lower
their emissions by 50 tonnes
a year.
The program exceeded that
goal on the second day, and
by the end of March had recorded
over 250 tonnes of
reductions on the calculator
established on the Environment
Hamilton website.
Part of the success has
been a fierce competition
between the three west
Hamilton neighbourhoods
that have established tree
committees and therefore are eligible for special
plantings of trees in public
spaces in their neighbourhoods.
At the moment, the
Westdale community
has moved
into first place
with pledges of
slightly over
106 tonnes.
Strathcona
is in second
with 87 tonnes,
but a campaign
has just been
launched at two of
their elementary schools
that promises to generate at
least 50 additional tonnes by
the end of June.
Kirkendall, currently running
third with 74 tonnes, is
also mobilizing an elementary
school.
The overwhelming response
has created a pleasant
problem for Environment
Hamilton – how to find
enough trees to meet the
pledge of providing two trees
for every tonne of reduction.
Based on the original objective
of 50 tonnes, the Eco-Action funding program of
Environment Canada provided
dollars for just 100
trees – far short of the more
than 500 already earned.
City councillors Brian
McHattie and Dave Braden
appear to have provided a
solution. With $60,000 from
the Hamilton Future Fund,
they are organizing
to plant trees all
across Hamilton
this year.
Most of the
trees will be
placed in publicly-owned
natural areas.
Environment
Hamilton continues
to offer a personal
backyard tree of at least five
feet in height to every individual
who reduces their
greenhouse gas emissions
by at least one tonne.
That one tonne will also
get a public tree, and each
additional tonne will earn
two more public trees.
Tonnes for Trees accomplishes
two environmental goals at once – reducing the
pollutants that destabilize
the global climate, and increasing
the size and health
of our urban forest.
To make your contribution
visit the Environment Hamilton
website
and click on the calculator
button.
Calculator: www.environmenthamilton.org/tonnes
JOIN AN URBAN TREE COMMITTEE
There are now three volunteer
neighbourhood tree
committees in Hamilton. The
Westdale one is more than
a year old, while more recent
groups have been formed in
Strathcona and Kirkendall
neighbourhoods. All of them
are working to protect and
enhance the urban forest of
their communities. Each was
formed as a result of a Trees
Count inventory of the trees
in their area, and they began
by reviewing the inventory
results and making
recommendations to their
respective communities.
In Strathcona, the committee
is getting involved in the
master planning for improvements
to Victoria Park. In
Westdale, a major focus of
the committee is tree planting.
In Kirkendall the committee
is conducting a survey
and will be holding a public
meeting in May or early June.
All the committees would welcome more members,
even if you don’t live in their
neighbourhood. Just send an
email to treescount@environmenthamilton.org or phone us at (905) 549-
0900 and we’ll put you in
touch with the committee of
your choice
ECOHOUSE
If you’re looking for fun
ways to get green living
ideas and reach your commitment
to the One Tonne
Challenge, visit Green Venture’s
EcoHouse, Southern
Ontario’s first retrofitted environmental
demonstration
home that is open for public
tours throughout the year.
There are self-guided tours
during business hours.
Please call Pete Wobschall
at 905-540-8787 ext.17 or
visit www.ecohouse.ca for
more information.
