The Town of Altona is taking on an urban forest management strategy with some big goals for the years ahead.
Over the next 20 years, the town plans to plant about 5,000 trees all throughout Altona with the goal of increasing the community’s tree canopy coverage to 15 per cent by 2045.
Town officials see these efforts as providing many benefits including more shade, cleaner air, improved stormwater management, wildlife habitat and more enjoyable public spaces. And trees also provide important economic benefits such as helping reduce home heating and cooling costs and increasing property values.
“The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, but the second best time is today,” said public works assistant Mark Dupuis.
“Trees are a big part of what makes Altona a great place to live. This plan gives us a clear path to take care of what we have and keep growing our canopy for the future,” noted Mayor Harv Schroeder.
Currently, Altona is home to more than 5,000 publicly-owned trees, which are in parks, boulevards, and other public green spaces. To increase the number of trees and strengthen the urban forest, the town’s goals include:
– Planting about 250 trees annually to support long-term canopy growth.
– Increasing tree species diversity to improve resilience against pests and diseases.
– Developing proactive maintenance and monitoring programs.
– Enhancing public education and community tree planting initiatives.
– Creating future tree protection and planting policies.
As part of the strategy, the town plans to strengthen proactive maintenance by increasing tree inspections, improving pruning schedules and preparing for emerging threats such as the emerald ash borer, dutch elm disease and other invasive pests.
Public feedback played an important role in shaping the strategy. Survey results showed 94 per cent consider trees important to their community with strong support for additional tree planting throughout Altona.
Residents will also have opportunities to participate in future planting events and community engagement initiatives as the strategy moves forward.
In 2026, the Town of Altona will be increasing from an annual 100 trees planted to 250 trees. This ambitious goal will be achieved through a few initiatives, including a tree planting workshop. On June 13 from 10 a.m. to noon, residents of Altona can participate in a mass tree-planting exercise in Ash Park.
The day will include tips on how to plant and care for a healthy tree as well as the opportunity to participate in planting 70+ trees in the park. In addition to participating in the public tree planting, attendees will also be given a voucher for a free tree to plant on their own Altona property.
Up to 50 tree vouchers will be available for trees to be planted on private properties in town. The vouchers can be redeemed at Two Sparrows Greenhouse for a tree from a pre-approved list with a value of up to $80.
Registrants at the workshop will be the first to receive these vouchers, with the possibility for other residents to receive them on a first come, first served basis after the workshop.
Dupuis noted this all grew from the town getting support to do an inventory of the tree canopy in Altona, so they’re trying to increase the canopy.
“One thing that we wanted to do was plant in more of our local parks because we are simply running out of boulevard space, and to meet this number, we need to look to other avenues, so that is why we are looking to do it in the park, in Ash Park, this year.
“We want to just make it look nice and bring more attraction to the park. It’s a fairly popular park as it is, but we’re hoping with the rejuvenation of its green space, it will just increase the attraction and draw people to come and check it out.”
