City planting 3,000 trees this spring as part of commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

HAMILTON, ON – Online registration for the new city-wide Private Tree Giveaway, a program aimed at providing residents across Hamilton with a free native tree they can plant on their private property is now open. As part of the program, the City is setting a goal to giveaway 3,000 trees this season, an initiative that will help the City offset emissions, enhance biodiversity and work as a community to prepare for the future impacts of climate change.

Tree planting is an important service provided to the residents of Hamilton that relies on engagement and partnerships with local organizations, community groups and residents. In 2021, the City hosted Ward specific Private Tree Giveaways as a pilot and after the successful distribution of almost 800 trees across six participating wards, City Council approved of the permanent implementation of the Private Tree Giveaway program in 2022 which will be funded through the tax operating budget.

The 2022 Private Tree Giveaways will be hosted over the span of four days between Saturday, June 4, 2022 and Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at the City’s Forestry Yard on Upper Ottawa Street and Bayfront Park. Residents looking to participate in one of the upcoming giveaways are required to register online to secure a 30-minute timeslot for contactless drive-thru pickup, and to select their preferred native tree species.

Exact dates, details and the registration form can be found by visiting www.hamilton.ca/privatetreegiveaway.

Quick Facts

• One large tree can provide a day’s oxygen for up to four people.
• Once fully grown, these 3,000 trees will:
  • provide a day’s oxygen for up to 12,000 people.
  • lift up to 300,000 gallons of water out of the ground and discharge it into the air in one day.
  • sequester an estimated amount of 600,000 kgs of carbon over an 80 year lifespan.
• In 2022, the City expects to plant between 10,000 and 12,000 trees.
• In 2020, a total of 12,218 trees were planted through Forestry led programs and in 2021, 17,908 trees were planted, an increased amount to previous years as a result of the Emerald Ash Borer replacement program.
• Since 2019, the City has invested approximately $57 million directly towards its nine high-impact climate change goals. These included investments towards bicycling infrastructure, parks and forestry, vehicle electrification, corporate energy initiatives, storm flooding mitigation and the operation of the Bay Area’s Climate Change Office and Bay Area Climate Change Council.
• A Term of Council priority, investment in actions such as the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change will help to improve the health of Hamilton’s population. The City is committed to working with businesses, industry, and all community partners to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 50 per cent by 2030 and achieving net-zero before 2050. Community-wide emissions have been reduced by approximately 33.4 per cent since 2006 and every year, Hamilton’s urban forest improves local air quality by producing 13.46 thousand metric tonnes of oxygen and absorbing 265 tonnes of pollution every year.