Tree-planting efforts questioned 1 year after highly destructive derecho storm

Some critics say the city isn't doing enough to get replacement trees in the ground a year after a derecho windstorm destroyed thousands of trees across Ottawa, and after Mayor Mark Sutcliffe campaigned on a promise to plant a million in his term.

In a typical year the cityplants about 100,000 trees. Theycoolurban heat deserts, shadehouses andsequestercarbon, and they increase property values andimprove quality of life, among other benefits.

Sutcliffe said during last year's election campaign that he wouldget 250,000 trees planted annually.

In 2023, his first full year in office, the citywill continue to plant somewhere around 100,000.

The routine figure a year after what the city repeatedly describesas "the most significant weather-related forest disturbance in decades"disappoints Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital.

He's not surprised, though.

"There were no extra dollars in the budget this year for forestry. So it's hard to, you know, solve that conundrum,"Johanissaid.

The forestry budget increased by 3.5 per centfrom last year, to a little over $27 million. In comparison, the city's entire operating budget increased by about nine per centfrom 2022, and Canada'srate of inflation from over the past year was 4.4per cent.

Angela Keller-Herzog, executive director ofCommunity Associations for Environmental Sustainability Ottawa, said it's going to take "a serious effort" to restore canopy after increasingly powerful and frequent storms.

"I think that we need a big push from the mayor," she said.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's time to sit down at the table and roll up our sleeves and start making much more concrete plans and allocating resources."

The city lost more than2,500trees in parks and right of ways in front of houses, which doesn't take into account the many tens of thousandsdestroyed orcut downin forested areas, hedgerows, ravines and other treed places, which the city doesn't count individually.

• Increasingly powerful storms threaten Ottawa's tree cover

Exactly how much tree cover was lost isn't yet known. Detailed scansof the entire National Capital Region began shortly after the derecho, but the analysis isn'texpected until late 2023, according to Jason Pollard, a section manager with the city's forestry department.

It'll show thechangetothecanopy expressed as a percentage. In 2017, the last time the survey was done, about 31per cent of city-owned land was covered in trees.

The goal is 40 per cent.

Tree-planting strategy to come

To get more canopy, the city isdevelopinga tree-planting strategy later this year. The strategy willbe added "to slowly make a difference in terms of increasing the numbers of trees planted and increase our tree canopy," Pollard said,adding trees incrementally over time.

It'll includea review ofexistingtree-planting programs such as Trees in Trust, in which residents apply to the cityto have trees planted on right of waysin exchange for wateringthem.

Since the derecho, 251 trees have been planted throughTrees in Trust.

Keller-Herzogdoesn't think it's enough, andhopes the city will find ways to more proactively helpresidents.

"There is a lot of unharnessed positive energy in communities in terms of identifying plantable spaces," she said.

"It's a matter of priorities and a matter of planning."

• Rattled by derecho, homeowners face tree removal dilemma

Pollard said there's more workto comeand responding to an event like the derecho takes time.

Staff "will be meticulous in terms of evaluating each and every site where disturbance occurred and lookingto re-establish and replant trees," he said.

When compared to the city's other pressures, such as affordable housing, Johanis said tree canopy isa number one issue for community associations.

"We hear it everywhere, all the time, without even soliciting it," he said.

"Whether it gets translated through council to action, we'll see."

In an emailed statement, Sutcliffe didn't answer questions about his campaign promise to plantone million trees.

Instead, the mayor wrote he'sworking on the tree-planting strategy with city staff, and engaging community groups, businesses, partners and schools to organize tree-planting events and volunteerwill be an "important"piece.

"This not only instills a sense of pride and accomplishment within our community but also [ensures] that the knowledge and passion for environmental stewardship are passed down to future generations," Sutcliffewrote.

National Capital Commission

As for its lands, the National Capital Commission (NCC) said it's still ininitial stages of recovery, and it's "too early to provide specific details about the derecho cleanup and subsequent steps."

Johanis said he thinks that'san indication of how "overwhelmed" and "swamped" the commissionis.

• 70% of upper tree canopy lost in Pine Grove and Pinhey Forest, NCC says
• Lovers of NCC woodlands, frustrated by storm cleanup, worry about Greenbelt's future

"I think this is a very, very big hit on their holdings, and even though the Greenbelt and managing and conserving it is part of their activity, they have other...higher priorities," he said.

"Our big concern is that this will lead, at some point, to disposal of some NCC lands because they can't manage them."

For more images of the derecho's aftermath, browse this photo gallery: