A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper
Posted May 26th, 2021 on Niagara At Large
With so much bad news these days – so much of it focused on an Ontario government and its enablers working to weaken programs for protecting our natural heritage – you have to celebrate goods news when you get it.
Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley and Pelham Regional Councillor Diana Huson hold a toast to planting trees at a major tree-planting event on the grounds of the Region’s Decew Water Treatment Plan on the borders of St. Catharines and Thorold in Niagara, Ontario . Photo by Doug Draper
In that spirit, how good it was this May 25th, to go out to Niagara Region’s Decew Falls Water Treatment Plant to cover a story about a large tree-planting project our Regional Government is involved in on acres of the Decew Falls property, in partnership with the good people at Land Care Niagara
The two Regional Councillors who were there for this ground-breaking event are among our most progressive when it comes to looking forward to a post-pandemic future in Niagara that re-imagines how we plan growth and prosperity with respect to protecting and growing what is left of our natural environment.
Those two Regional Councillors are Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley and Pelham Regional Councillor Diana Huson, who also serves as Chair of the Region’s Planning and Economic Development Committee.
Pelham Niagara Regional Councillor Diana Huson and Chair of the Region’s Planning and Economic Development Committee.
It was Diana Huson who found opportunities from senior levels of government to participate in tree-planting programs, and sent that information on to Regional staff who followed through – all of that with the total backing of Jim Bradley.
“I think if you canvass Niagara residents, most would like to see a larger tree canopy,” said Bradley. “This is something that is very positive.”
Very positive, indeed, and thanks to both Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley, Pelham Regional Councillor Diana Huson and others at Niagara’s Regional Government level for working together with Land Care Niagara and its partners in senior levels of government to grow Niagara’s canopy of trees.
Future generations, no doubt, will thank us for it.
And thank you to Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley and Pelham Regional Councillor Diana Huson for your efforts in helping to make it happen.
Now here is a News Release from the Niagara Region on this tree-planting initiative –
Niagara Region partners with Land Care Niagara to plant 7,400 trees
Niagara Region is pleased to partner with Land Care Niagara <https://landcareniagara.com/> to plant approximately 7400 native tree seedlings on the grounds of Niagara Region’s Decew Falls Water Treatment Plant in Thorold.
The project will help inform the development of Niagara Region’s Greening Initiative. The Greening Initiative will aim to increase vegetative cover across the region in support of ecosystem health, and is part of the new Niagara
Official Plan’s <https://www.niagararegion.ca/official-plan/> Climate Change work program.
The seedlings are a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees promoting vegetative diversity and are strategically planted using landscape ecology principles.
The planting site was strategically identified through analysis work undertaken by Land Care Niagara, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The analysis identified the Decew Falls site as a highly suitable area to increase forest canopy in the 12 Mile Creek watershed.
The planting site is also located beside the Bruce Trail and Laura Secord Legacy Trail, and will enhance forest cover along the Niagara Escarpment. Other Regionally owned sites are also being evaluated for additional tree planting opportunities in future years, and as funding becomes available.
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