submitted by Erin Thorne
After a few record-breaking tree planting seasons across its 4,480 square-kilometre watershed jurisdiction in Eastern Ontario, South Nation Conservation (SNC) is calling out to property owners this fall to start planning for their spring 2024 tree planting projects!
SNC is currently booking site visits and accepting orders for locally sourced native trees and shrubs offered at reduced rates through a variety of planting programs administered by the Conservation Authority.
Residents interested in small planting projects can order a minimum of 100 tree seedlings over the counter from SNC. The Authority maintains a species list of in-stock trees online but notes that quantities are limited, and some species have already been sold out. The price per seedling can be as low as $0.85 per seedling.
Property owners with larger open areas of at least 1 acre can benefit from considerable cost savings by purchasing trees through SNC’s Tree Planting Programs funded by the Government of Canada and Forests Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program. When working with sites where over 1,000 trees can be planted, SNC can provide seedlings, planting, site preparation or tending for $1.05 per tree for coniferous seedlings and $1.58 per tree for hardwoods, making it affordable to reforest land.
SNC also offers additional subsidies for 1 acre tree plantings along farm fields and watercourses to help reduce erosion, protect water quality, and increase forest cover.
Over-the-counter orders of 100 trees or more can be ordered directly from SNC’s website, however, all other projects require free site visits by SNC staff this fall to sample and prepare planting sites, prepare tree planting plans, and source suitable trees.
“We’re encouraging residents to contact us early to schedule their free site visit,” explains Cheyene Brunet, one of SNC’s Foresters. “People are often disappointed when they find out that their preferred species are already sold out in the spring. Depending on the nursery stock, we need to confirm tree orders in the fall before the spring planting season!”
Approximately 50,000 tree seedlings have already been reserved for the 2024 spring tree planting season which will add to the 4 million trees that SNC has planted since 1990.
“Planting trees has so many benefits for the environment and our communities. They clean our air, stabilize our shorelines, create homes for wildlife and increase biodiversity and carbon storage,” added Brunet.
In addition to tree planting programs, SNC also offers a free Woodlot Advisory Service to private forest owners and a Woodlot Storm Recovery Program that was launched this year to help recover woodlots damaged by the May 2022 Derecho Storm.
For more information on ordering trees, planting programs and subsidies, please visit www.nation.on.ca/land/forestry-services/tree-planting-services or call 1-877-984-2948.
