In October 2018, Cobourg Volunteers participated in planting some of the 117,000 trees that will remember the 117,000 Canadians who have “died for freedom” since confederation (see link below). The 117,000 trees will be planted on the Highway of Heroes right of way and another 1.8 million trees will be planted nearby but not on the right of way. You might have thought that this initiative would be dropped but no, it has continued. This Spring, more than 98,000 new trees have been planted across Northumberland County in honour of Canadian veterans, thanks to the combined efforts of the Highway of Heroes (HOH) Tree Campaign and Forests Ontario. These newly planted seedlings are adding to an existing green monument along Canada’s busiest highway.
The goal is 2 million trees – one for each of the two million Canadians that have served in the Canadian Armed Forces although not all of these will be planted right on the highway. The Highway of Heroes (HOH) Tree Campaign have teamed up with Forests Ontario so that there is help towards the cost for eligible landowners living near Highway 401. So far 125,000 trees have been rooted in Northumberland County.
Across Ontario, more than 880,000 seedlings were planted on upwards of 300 properties through the campaign this spring, creating over 440 hectares of new forest. Having rooted nearly 1.6 million trees in total, the HOH Campaign is poised to be completed by the end of 2022.
Background
The Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign is funded by Veterans Affairs Canada, the Government of Ontario, Cullen’s Foods, Landscape Ontario, TD Bank, the Ontario Trillium Fund, the City of Toronto, Frank Cowan Company, the City of Quinte West, Tree Canada, Rotary District 7070, Maple Leaves Forever, the Garden Club of Toronto and Canadian citizens nationwide.
To learn more, visit www.hohtribute.ca.
Forests Ontario is a not-for-profit charity that promotes re-greening the province through forest restoration, conservation, education and stewardship. Forests Ontario commits to promoting a healthier future by sustaining and supporting healthy forests through multiple tree planting initiatives. Forests Ontario is the voice of our forests.
Forests Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program is a tree planting program supported by the Government of Canada, corporate sponsors and donors. It increases forest cover by making tree planting easier and more affordable for property owners and municipalities.
Forests Ontario has facilitated the planting of more than 37 million trees across Canada since 2004.
Link: Forests Ontario
Property owners living within 30 kilometers of the 401 corridor between Windsor and Cornwall who are interested in planting trees in the spring of 2022 (minimum 500) can visit www.forestsontario.ca or contact:
Nicole Baldwin, Forestry Program Manager, Forests Ontario
(416) 646-1193, ext. 227 or [email protected].
Earlier Article on Cobourg News Blog
- Highway of Heroes Tree Planting – 20 October 2018
Print Article:
The trees will have to be watered regularly or they’ll die. Has anyone factored that in?
From the latest HOH update
Quote
Money sent to the campaign will be put to good use as we maximize the survival rate for our trees and continue to nurture them until nature can take over, about three years after planting.
Not much interest it appears…
One day a year must be sufficient.
Sad !
My “not much interest” remark was simply to indicate the lack of numbers on thumbs / comments on this subject, compared to most others, which usually are numerous,
What a wonderful tribute. We planted a tree at my grandaughter’s school when my husband passed away.