Tree Canada (french: Arbres Canada) is a non-profit charitable organization that promotes the planting and nurturing of trees in Canada's urban and rural areas. It provides tree-related education, technical assistance and resources to communities, corporations, individuals and non-profit organizations.

History

Tree Canada began in 1992 under the name "The National Community Tree Foundation" and was originally funded by the

Canadian Forest Service The Canadian Forest Service (CFS; french: Service canadien des forêts) is a sector of the Canadian government department of Natural Resources Canada. Part of the federal government since 1899, the CFS is a science-based policy organization responsi ...

(CFS), a branch of the government ministry

Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the depa ...

. In collaboration with CFS, the foundation was tasked with delivering the Canadian governmental program Tree Plan Canada, which provided assistance for tree-planting projects across Canada and also sought to educate the public about the importance of trees in fighting climate change. In 1993, the first Canadian Urban Forest Conference was held. Tree Canada has been a principal organizer since the inception of the conference. In 2007, the Government of Canada ceased funding the organization, prompting it to rebrand as "Tree Canada" as it transitioned to a privately funded charity.

Programs

*Greening Canada’s School Grounds provides grants and resources to schools to enable them to plant and care for trees on their grounds. *TD Green Streets provides assistance to municipalities, aboriginal communities, and selected business improvement associations in the areas of tree planting, tree-related urban design, and

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

. *Grow Clean Air allows companies, households, municipalities and events to calculate their

carbon dioxide emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...

and take steps to offset those emissions. *Operation ReLeaf provides assistance in replanting trees in areas affected by natural pests or disasters. The current ReLeaf program is directed at replanting trees in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

that were lost to the

mountain pine beetle The mountain pine beetle (''Dendroctonus ponderosae'') is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton, and measures approximately , about the siz ...

. *Edible Trees provides funding and resources to community groups and organizations to allow them to grow

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

and nut trees. *National Tree Day, inaugurated by the Canadian parliament in 2011, is a national day devoted to tree-related education and activities. *Partners in Planting and the National Greening Program both provide opportunities for community and corporate groups to plant and care for trees in their neighbourhoods.

Criticism

Tree Canada has been accused of

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims ...

large oil companies such as

Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited (french: Shell Canada Limitée) is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a majo ...

References

{{reflist Non-profit organizations based in Ottawa Educational institutions established in 1992 Environmental organizations based in Ontario Forestry in Canada 1992 establishments in Canada