Vancouver's new urban forest strategy faces challenges, academic says

CBC

26-05-2025

The city wants to increase tree coverage by 5% in 25 years, but development pressures could cause challenges
Caption: Trees are pictured in the West End neighbourhood of Vancouver. The city has approved an ambitious new urban forest strategy, but a forestry professor says it faces hurdles. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Vancouver councillors have approved an updated plan for growing the city's urban forest, but a forestry professor says there are challenges ahead.
The city's goal is to increase its canopy cover – how much of the city is covered by leaves and branches when seen from above – from about 25 per cent of the city to 30 per cent by 2050, according to the updated urban forest strategy.
The plan sets a target to plant about 165,000 new trees over the next 25 years, and encourages residents to plant trees in their own backyards.
And while the plan has drawn praise from one expert, both city councillors and staff have acknowledged there will be difficulties in meeting the goals set out in the report.
Stephen Sheppard, a professor emeritus at the University of B.C.'s forestry faculty, said Vancouver's 30 per cent canopy cover target is very achievable – but he noted there is cause for concern.
"There are a lot of threats to this," he said.
In the wake of the B.C. government pushing hard for cities to increase housing density, Sheppard advised councillors to minimize the loss of existing urban trees when approving rezoning proposals.
"It would make sense to provide strong guidelines on how to protect and manage and include trees into these densification projects," Sheppard said.
"We could be increasing the height, but reducing the floor space that the buildings take up and saving that root space for trees. That's really important."
The professor says that the city needs to set clear targets and put out stronger messaging to incentivize private property owners to plant trees and care for them, adding that trees can help cool down neighbourhoods and reduce climate change impacts.
"Planting programs for front and back yards that encourages and educates people about what the benefits are, what the right tree might be for them — a lot more effort has to go into that to make it feasible," he said.
Urban development and trees
Sheppard said the 30 per cent target is the minimum required.
"Forty per cent is like the gold standard – but that might be difficult in Vancouver," he said.
Both Metro Vancouver and Toronto have a 40 per cent target by 2050, while Seattle's goal is 30 per cent canopy cover by 2037, according to the city staff presentation.
Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said the 30 per cent goal by 2050 seemed far away.
"I do want to encourage us to … be realistic about the challenge in delivering on that goal, but be a bit more aggressive," she said.
City challenges
Joe McLeod, the city's associate director of urban forestry, said the plan has a variety of benefits, including improving wildlife habitat and residents' health.
"There's also evidence to suggest that people's willingness to spend in retail districts with robust urban forests is increased," he told council.
But the official acknowledged the last five per cent of the 30 per cent goal is going to be harder to make happen.
"The cream has been skimmed off the top, so to speak," he said, saying that from 2010 to 2020, the city had capitalized on all of the inexpensive tree-planting spots.
"Now we're getting into the harder to reach areas," McLeod added.
He noted one of the challenges to planting new trees in areas like the Downtown Eastside, which lack tree canopy, is the cost of creating new tree pits, which can cost between $15,000 and $20,000 each.
"It is a costly endeavour, but it improves the public realm and obviously provides great benefits to the community," McLeod said.
Equity issues
Multiple councillors pointed out the stark divide in canopy cover between neighbourhoods.
Shaughnessy has 41 per cent tree canopy cover, while Strathcona — which includes the Downtown Eastside — has only nine per cent.
The difference can be particularly significant during heat waves, according to the staff report, which says that vulnerable populations in low canopy areas faced a higher risk of heat-related deaths.
Coun. Mike Klassen asked staff to explore how to reduce urban heat islands in neighbourhoods with minimal tree canopy cover, including a "GreenShades" system that suspends large sails with planted greenery over streets.