Vancouver Park Board
Media Advisory
October 1, 2015
The Vancouver Park Board is selling a variety of young trees
for a modest $10 to help residents grow the city’s urban tree canopy.
The 6-foot tall trees
in 7-10 gallon pots will be available to Vancouver residents (with proof of
residency) at the Park Board head office during the second annual Doors Open
Vancouver on Saturday, October 3 between 10 am and 5 pm. The Board office is
one of 18 City of Vancouver sites open to the public.
“The Park Board has a
long history of planting and caring for trees in green spaces and parks across
Vancouver, but we need residents to also plant trees on their property in order
to increase the urban tree canopy. I encourage families to come down during the
Doors Open event where they can get a great deal on a tree for their front or
back yard,” said Vancouver Park Board Chair John Coupar.
When: Friday, October
2, 2015 @ 1 pm
Where: Vancouver Park Board head office, 2099 Beach Avenue
Who: Park Board Chair John Coupar, Park Board Urban Forestry
Strategy Project Manager Katherine Isaac and urban forestry crews
What: Fruit, flowering, shade and conifer trees for sale
October 3
The trees being sold
include fruit (Italian prune plums, apple and cherry), flowering (Snowcone
Japanese Snowbell and Magnolia ‘Randy’), shade (Katsura and Autumn Gold Ginkgo)
and conifers (dwarf mountain pine ‘mops’ and Frohburg Weeping Norway spruce)
valued at up to $100 each. There is a limit of five trees per person.
The Park Board is
targeting to plant 11,000 new trees, including on private property, this year
in support of the City of Vancouver’s Urban Forest Strategy, which was endorsed
by the Park Board and City Council in April 2014.
Vancouver is home to
an urban forest with more than 140,000 street trees and 340,000 park trees
along with trees on private property. The urban forest plays important
environmental and social roles, such as cleaning the air, absorbing storm
water, storing carbon, providing habitat and improving health and well-being.
Every tree in our
city makes up what is known as Vancouver’s urban forest. Today, 18 percent of
Vancouver is covered by tree canopy (ground area is covered by tree leaf
canopies as seen from the air) on par with Victoria and Seattle, but down from
22.5 percent in 1995.
As our canopy
declines, so do the benefits provided by the urban forest including cleaning
the air, absorbing carbon dioxide, managing rain water and providing wildlife
habitat.
Residents with
questions are encouraged to contact pbtree@vancouver.ca.
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Media contact:
Vancouver Park Board
604-257-8440
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