Cuts to tree program sees London area supplier destroy 4 million seedlings
The tree farm north of Toronto was growing 1.5 million trees a year for the 50 Million Tree Program
A tree farm that supplies seedlings to local conservation authorities is being forced to destroy millions of trees as the fallout continues from the Ford government axing the 50 Million Tree Program.
Sommerville Seedlings, located just over an hour north of Toronto, is one of the largest tree suppliers for southern Ontario and has been a part of the province's tree planting program since 2008.
"The government cancelled its own program and we were contract growing for them," said Fred Sommerville, owner of Sommerville Seedlings.
"In essence, they pulled the plug on it mid-stream and we were left holding the bag, which, in our case, is probably to the tune of about 4-million seedlings that we're just going to have to destroy because they just don't want them now."
Sommerville says the option of giving the trees away to the public is not possible.
"We're talking millions of trees here," he said. "When people come in and want a hundred here or fifty there, it's just not feasible. So, we're going to have to retool our whole seedling division."
Tree planting is the most cost-effective way that we can mitigate against climate change,- Elizabeth VanHoorn, Kettle Creek Conservation Authority
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) announced the elimination of the 50 Million Tree Program the day after the province tabled its budget. Forest Ontario facilitated the $4.7 million program, which aimed to save landowners up to 90 per cent of the costs of large-scale tree planting, and in turn, help clean Ontario's air and water, protect shorelines and reduce erosion.
"They just slammed the door on the whole tree planting effort for all of southern Ontario," said Sommerville.
While funding is in place for this season, the cancelation could mean future job cuts at the nursery. Sommerville's contract with the province was supposed to be in place until 2025.
The province's response
The Ministry says they are ending the program as part of the province's efforts to maximize value for the tax dollar.
"The 50 Million Tree Program has only planted 27,000,000 trees since 2007, an average of 2,500,000 trees per year," said Justine Lewkowicz, a MNRF spokesperson in a statement. "This is well short of their initial goal of 50,000,000 trees by 2020."
The Ministry also noted the forestry industry already plants an average 68 million trees across the province each year, creating jobs for foresters, nurseries, and tree planters.
"They keep talking about 68 million trees being planted, but that's way, way up north, where they're mandated to plant areas that they cut over. A lot of that is Crown land," said Sommerville. "This program is strictly suited for southern Ontario."
Local impact
The Kettle Creek Conservation Authority (KCCA) plants about 50,000 trees a year in the London area and throughout the Kettle Creek Watershed, including 20,000 trees for the 50 Million Tree Program.
"The current forest cover in the Kettle Creek watershed is just 14 per cent, when Environment Canada recommends 30 per cent forest cover in a watershed to support wildlife species and biodiversity," said Elizabeth VanHoorn, KCCA General Manager and Secretary-Treasurer.
"And we know, based on aerial photography, the watershed is actually losing over seven hectares of forest per year."
VanHoorn says that by planting the current number of trees, the conservation authority is barely keeping pace with the rate of deforestation in the area. The loss of 20,000 trees that were made possible through the provincial program will mean they could fall behind in their efforts.
"The real impact that that loss of that program will have on our landscape is that it was targeting larger scale plants, so two and a half acres or larger," said VanHoorn.
"The large scale plants are the ones that will have a significant benefit in terms of creating buffers, slowing erosion, those types of things."
Tree planting by the KCCA also plays a major role in ReForest London's Million Tree Challenge, a non-profit initiative to see 1 million trees planted in the city.
Future forestry worries
Planting that has already been scheduled for this year will go ahead, but VanHoorn says uncertainty remains for the future of planting in the London area.
"Tree planting is the most cost-effective way that we can mitigate against climate change, especially for flooding and erosion. The extent of which it will impact our programs and services is yet to be determined, but we know that it will have an impact," she said.
The conservation authority is also grappling with a 50 per cent funding cut to their hazard management program.