City plants seeds for the future

December 20, 2008 Penticton Western:

Penticton city council has agreed to commit $51,500 in funds towards the Trees for Tomorrow program. If the city’s grant application is accepted, they will receive matching funds from the province. “The project looks great and something we really need in this community because we have signed on as partners in the climate action charter,” said Coun. Garry Litke. “Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2012 and this will help. Of course there is a financial incentive and that is the return of our carbon tax over the next number of years which could be significant if we achieve that goal.” The Trees for Tomorrow program is a provincial government initiative with a goal of planting four million trees in B.C. as part of a five-year action plan to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, beautify communities and make our cities greener and healthier. The program in Penticton will promote the province’s objectives, support the B.C. Climate Action Charter (signed by the City of Penticton), reduce the effects of the mountain pine beetle, replace trees lost during the severe wind storms of recent years and enhance the city.

This project will put 290 trees in parks, along boulevards, trail corridors, in the SOEC parking lot and within natural greenbelts. The total cost of Penticton’s program is $101,500. The grant will contribute 50 per cent of the cost of the program, up to a maximum of $50,000 to plant a mixture of ornamental trees and native species such as ponderosa pines. Coun. Mike Pearce challenged city staff to find ways to compensate that money through programs such as birth forests, where citizens can purchase a tree in honour of a newborn child. This would only be the first phase of the Trees for Tomorrow program. It is expected the community will be involved in the tree planting program through school participation, Earth Day, Arbour Day festivities and service club participation.

------------------

http://www.treesfortomorrow.gov.bc.ca/

Projects selected for funding must meet the following criteria:

• ecologically sound project and site plan;
• volunteer and community engagement;
• partnered funding;
• linkages with other provincial government initiatives; and
• stewardship, monitoring and long-term sustainability plans.

The first application intake deadline is January 16, 2009.