City says about 1,800 trees were planted in Vaughan this summer

Canopy cover is 33.4% in York region, recommended range is 40% by 2051

yorkregion.com
Oct. 1, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

About 1,800 trees, 2,000 perennials, 240 hanging baskets, and 310 flower planters were placed across Vaughan this summer, starting in May, the city said in a news release Sep. 24.

In addition, the city said it was “responsible for maintaining more than 135,000 trees and 195 hectares of woodlots.”

The city also inspected about 1,700 trees to ensure they remain healthy, and completed a total of 11 grass-cutting rotations in Vaughan parks.

To enhance community gardens as autumn looms, the city is starting to “replace annual flowers with mums for a pop of fall colour.”

Planting trees is part of a Canada-wide plan to combat climate change.

Nationally, Canada has a target of adding 2 billion trees over the next 10 years as part of a broader approach to nature-based climate solutions.

Last fall, Canada allocated up to $3.2 billion over 10 years for this historic tree-planting effort.

In its May report, York Region Forestry said its canopy cover assessment found urbanized areas typically have lower canopoy cover and higher surface temperatures.

And in general, neighbourhoods with lower median family income have less canopy cover than those with higher income.

In York region, the canopy cover is currently 33.4 per cent with the recommended range to be 40 per cent by 2051. The regional woodland cover is 23.6 per cent, which is what is recommended by 2051.

For Vaughan, the canopy cover is 21.9 per cent where the recommended range is 25 to 35 per cent and the woodland cover is 12.4 per cent and the recommendation is 14 to 17 per cent.