Park Board’s fall tree sale up and running

Vancouver Park Board

News Release
August 30, 2017

Restoring Vancouver’s urban forest one $10 tree at a time

 

The Vancouver Park Board kicked off its annual fall tree sale today with 1,500 trees available online for $10 apiece.

 

The Park Board’s tree sales are a key part of its effort to restore Vancouver’s tree canopy which has seen a steady decline since the 1990’s. Since its first tree sale in 2015, the Park Board has sold more than 9,000 discounted trees to Vancouver residents.

 

“We need residents to help us grow the urban forest or we will continue to lose our forest canopy. This fall we’re also selling potted trees for balconies so apartment dwellers can help support Vancouver’s biodiversity.” said Park Board Chair Michael Wiebe.

 

Given that more than 60 percent of Vancouverites live in apartments, the Park Board is now including seven varieties of trees in the sale that live well in pots and are suitable for balconies as well as yards. The majority of the balcony species are flowering—always a strong seller.

 

The last canopy cover study in 2013 showed about 18 percent of Vancouver was covered by tree canopy, a drop from 22 percent in 1995. Canopy is the amount of ground covered by tree leaves as seen from the air. The Park Board will take a new canopy cover measurement in 2018.

 

Trees are crucial for filtering rain water, cleaning the air and supporting our well-being, all key goals of the Park Board’s Urban Forest Strategy.

 

Trees are only available to Vancouver residents and can be purchased at vancouver.ca/tree-sale with a maximum of three per household. Tree pick up is on Sept 17 from 9 am to 4 pm at Hillcrest Centre. A limited number of trees, including some selected varieties from the Park Board’s tree farm, will also be available for cash purchase between 2 and 4 pm.

 

The Board and its partners aim to plant 17,500 trees this year toward the goal of 150,000 new trees by 2020. More than half the trees have been planted to meet this ambitious goal.

 

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Media contact:

Vancouver Park Board

604-257-8440