Too true that all we read about is bad news; here is some great news. From 2012 to 2015 the forest canopy in York Region has grown 725 hectares and 502 hectares of that growth (i.e. 69%) is in King. Trees are vital to mitigate climate change as it sequesters carbon; and they reduce air pollution. YR has bold goals to increase the canopy from current 23% to 30% by 2031 and 40% by 2050. King’s woodland coverage in 2015 was 26%. And if you are not persuaded that trees are important how about this statistic: the consultants who did the Urban Forest assessment indicate that the YR canopy’s impact is equivalent to removing 60,000 vehicles off the roads! Here is the report.
Excellent report!! It should be compulsory reading for all decision makers in the Region. I am sure that most residents in King would support it and would get involved in the goal of increasing the tree coverage. Let’s all plant more trees and not cut them down….