Tree Canada announces $83,000 to help reforest urban Alberta
Posted May 9, 2015 6:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
While the City of Calgary is working double-time to get through even a portion of the damaged trees from ‘Snowtember’, individual Calgarians also have a lot of work left to do.
Tree Canada has sent representatives to Calgary’s Disaster Alley on Saturday, to announce some help in the form of $83,000.
Mike Rosen, president of the not-for-profit charitable organization, said they actually got the ball rolling a couple of years ago when he was visiting the Calgary Stampede and witnessed the damage caused from the 2013 flood.
“We don’t realize it, but Calgary is part of a prairie,” Rosen said. “Trees are hard to maintain on the landscape so when trees go down in Calgary, it’s a big investment, it takes a long time to get a tree to a certain size.”
The funding doesn’t pertain to Calgary alone, as Rosen said it’s also available to other Alberta communities or individuals affected by tree loss in events like the flooding that crippled High River.
The application requirements are as follows:
Residents – Residents who had individual trees killed by the floods or snow storm can apply for a rebate of up to $500 off the estimated cost of an individual landscaped tree. The online application, and 1-2 photos of flood or snow damage, can be sent to the Tree Canada Community Advisor for review and approval.
Landowners – Private landowners who have shelterbelt trees or landscape trees around their yard killed by the floods or snow storm can apply for tree seedlings or potted trees up to a 5 gallon pot size, for a maximum amount of $5,000.
Municipalities – Municipalities who have had trees killed by the floods or snow storm can apply for trees for a maximum amount of $10,000.
Those eligible should take pictures of the damaged trees and submit an application form before July 31, 2015.
The funding was made available through cooperation with TELUS, the Alberta government and the Alberta Urban Forest ReLeaf program.
Tree Canada is also now accepting applications for the Alberta Mountain Pine Beetle ReLeaf, a program first launched in 2010, aimed at replacing trees lost to the advance of the invasive insect.
