TreeKeepers and Vancouver Park Board sell cheap trees for greener city

In a bid to make Vancouver the "greenest city" — both on public land and off it — the Park Board and non-profit organization TreeKeepers are selling trees to residents for $10 to $15.

"It's not as difficult as they might think. The important thing is to plant the right tree in the right place. If you do that nature kind of wants to grow. That tree wants to grow," David Tracey, a manager with TreeKeepers told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

"This is going to be less yard work. If you've been taking care of a lawn, get into trees my friend because it's a lot easier."

For residents who don't have a yard, Tracey said it's still possible to grow a tree on a balcony — it just requires pruning to keep it from outgrowing the space.

Tracey said planting more trees on private property is key not just to growing Vancouver's greenery — it needs more trees to maintain what it already has.

"Vancouver is actually losing its canopy cover. It sounds alarming to some people because we think we're a very green place," he said.

Tracey said if you fly over Vancouver by air about 18 per cent of the city will be covered in trees. 20 years ago, he said, it was 22 per cent covered. 

There are 16 different varieties of tree available — some are fruit trees while others are just ornamental.

• Jonafree Apple
• Spartan Apple
• Honeycrisp Apple
• Brown Turkey Fig
• Lattarula Fig
• Negronne Fig
• President Plum
• Early Italian Plum
• Red Leaf Japanese Maple
• Leonard Messel Magnolia
• Rose of Sharon
• Purple Smoke Tree
• Chinese Fighazel
• Smiling Forest Lily
• Japanese Stewartia
• Garry Oak 

​​Trees are for sale online now, and will be available for pick up at Vancouver's community centres between April 11 and April 22. 

To hear the full interview with David Tracey, click the audio labelled: Cheap trees for a greener city.