Winnipeg balances public trees removed, planted in 2024 — but long journey to grow canopy still ahead

CBC

2 days ago

The number of trees lost in Winnipeg's public areas last year was offset by almost the same number of new ones planted — meeting a target foresters say is relevant but only a starting point on a long road ahead to grow a canopy facing significant threats.
Winnipeg's tree cover has shrunk year after year over the last decade. Between 2014 and 2024, 59,576 trees were removed from parks and boulevards while only 31,557 new ones were planted on public land, according to city data.
The net loss of 28,000 public trees in the last 10 years has left the canopy in shortfall. Last year marked a notable slowdown of losses however, with all but 24 trees removed from public spaces being replaced by new ones.
"It's a great milestone," said Christian Cassidy, the executive director for Trees Winnipeg. "But it's just a milestone on a larger journey."
Invasive pests, climate change and spurring urban development have chipped away at the city's overall tree canopy for decades.
Those challenges are expected to continue, with an "unprecedented strain" expected in coming years, barring significant changes to how Winnipeg manages its urban forests, including planting many more trees than are removed, according to Winnipeg's urban forest strategy.
"That milestone we reached needs to become the bare minimum, the floor, so that from now on the worst case scenario is ever going to be to replace every tree that was removed," Cassidy said.
Winnipeg has been working over the years with nurseries to diversify the tree-types in the canopy and narrow the gap between public tree removals and replacements, said Martha Barwinsky, the city's forester.
Hiking overtime in the forestry department last year helped refurbish Winnipeg's reforestation and planting program with the resources needed to meet demand and replace almost all removed trees, Barwinsky said.
But she acknowledged more needs to happen in the coming years to reduce the number of removals from public property and maintain the city's planting level — so there's gains when it comes to trees on public land and not just replacements.
"We are looking to reach a 24 per cent tree canopy cover [in Winnipeg] by 2065," Barwinsky said. "We can't just do it by a one-to-one tree replacement."
The goal for canopy cover has been framed by the city's as ambitious. To reach it it will require replacement of all removed trees and a net gain of 760,000 trees by 2065, or 17,000 each year for the next four decades.
A need for over-planting, preservation
But it isn't just a numbers game. With a higher population of elm and ash trees at the mercy of deadly pests circulating in Winnipeg, it's very important to plant at a faster pace in the city, said Sara Barron, the urban forestry leadership program director at the University of British Columbia.
Reestablishing the city's tree cover also becomes more challenging when Winnipeg is losing a larger number of mature trees.
"It's going to take 30 to 50 years to replace that single tree canopy with newly-planted trees," Barron said.
"As we look at densification, we're actually losing huge portions of the private canopy as well," she said. "Over-planting, if there's sufficient resources, makes a lot of sense."
There are also concerns about lack of measures to preserve existing healthy trees.
Without a bylaw outright restricting landowners from removing trees on their properties, construction projects aren't required to build around existing ones, Cassidy of Trees Winnipeg said.
"New housing, replacing older housing, streets being widened, that creates a big loss for trees," he said. "If you're taking down a 100-year-old tree, how do you replace that?"
Barwinsky said reaching the goal of 24 per cent canopy cover in the next four decades will also only be possible if the city works to maintain existing trees.
"Tree preservation really has a big role in growing that canopy," she said. "It gives us time to replant … so that the losses aren't as great," she said.
'This isn't just a public issue'
One of the biggest challenges for the city comes by way of the limited space available left to grow trees on public land.
Barwinsky said larger parks and boulevards make up about 10 per cent of the canopy. The rest is or could be on residential and commercial properties susceptible to development.
"That is beyond our jurisdiction," Barwinsky said. "However, there's lots of space to plant trees in front yards … but that requires a whole other program and project and resources and support."
Winnipeg currently provides funding for groups to plant trees only on public property.
Barwinsky said other alternatives could be offered to target private-property planting but Winnipeg needs to first map out where eligible land is and account for the expense of taking care of the trees.
"There's this significant investment at the beginning, that's why we need to do it right and make sure we're … getting them established well," Barwinsky said.
Failing to allocate enough resources for watering and pruning, or not assessing land well enough to ensure sufficient soil volume might lead to the failure of planting campaigns and a large number of tree deaths, said UBC's Barron.
"We need to do a better job … valuing the private tree canopy in a way that incentivizes homeowners to plant and maintain large trees," she said. "It isn't just a public issue."
Rebates of up to $300 for planting trees on residential property are currently offered in Brandon. Applicants qualify only if they avoid planting them on city property.
Trees Winnipeg said that incentive could be implemented in Winnipeg, along with supplying seedlings to increase the canopy in private property.
But Cassidy argues Winnipeg needs to ensure the support goes first to people who can't afford planting. Involving community groups like churches or centres might help, he said.
"The city's not going to tree-plant us out of this problem," he said. "It's going to be the private land owners that are going to make the biggest difference."
Winnipeg narrows gap between trees removed and planted in 2024
4 minutes ago
Over the last decade, the difference between trees removed and planted meant Winnipeg's public canopy lost 28,019 trees overall. The city's forester says efforts to plant on private property and preserve healthy trees will be key to helping Winnipeg to reach a 24 per cent canopy cover by 2065.