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NVCA looking for volunteers for spring tree planting

October 12, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Area is searching for landowners looking to plant trees in the spring of 2024.

Each year, the NVCA’s forestry program plants around 100,000 trees for property owners in the Nottawasaga Watershed who want to convert their land into forests.

Planting trees helps to provide wildlife habitat, shade rivers and streams, produce oxygen, and provide many other natural benefits. Well-managed forests also contribute to the economy by providing wood for construction and wood fibre for products such as paper.

“In the early 1900s, as settlers established communities in the Nottawasaga Watershed, they started to clear land for farming, but the topsoil quickly eroded and sand underneath was exposed,” explained Rick Grillmayer, manager of forestry at NVCA. “Between the 1960’s and early 1990s, the Province of Ontario planted millions of trees to restore our forests. Fast forward to today, NVCA is the only organization in the watershed that offers professional tree planting services.”

For this program, NVCA has a minimum requirement of one hectare or approximately two acres of planting space. All properties must be located in the Nottawasaga Watershed. Landowners can use the NVCA’s Interactive Data Viewer to determine where their property is located.

With support from Forest Ontario’s 50 Million Trees Program, the Simcoe County Tree Planting Program, and the Town of New Tecumseth Tree Planting Program, landowners may be eligible for grants for tree planting.

Grant availability depends on property size and location and ranges between 60 to 80 per cent of tree planting costs for 2024.

Properties over 4.45 hectares or 11 acres in size may be eligible for the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program.

If you are interested in planting trees with the NVCA, contact Rick Grillmayer at rgrillmayer@nvca.on.ca or by telephone at: 705-424-1479 ext. 230.

You can also visit online at NVCA.on.ca for more details.

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