York Region grows a greener future with 123,000 new trees and shrubs planted in 2024

Newmarket – The Regional Municipality of York’s 2024 Greening Strategy achievements showcases York Region’s collaborative efforts with partners and local cities and towns in helping safeguard our natural environment.

“York Region’s Greening Strategy continues to deliver environmental, economic and health benefits to support a sustainable future for residents and visitors,” said Eric Jolliffe, York Region Chairman and CEO. “Trees and forests play a vital role in enhancing York Region’s capacity to mitigate and adapt to evolving environmental conditions. We remain committed to expanding tree cover, reinforcing ecological resilience and supporting healthy forests for generations to come.”

The 2024 Greening Strategy surpassed expectations across multiple key areas, contributing to a greener York Region, including:

• Becoming the first municipality in the world to achieve certification under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standards as certified by Preferred by Nature, demonstrating leadership in forestry and sustainability management and best practices
• Planting 123,823 trees and shrubs in schoolyards, backyards, parks, private forests, conservation areas, along streets and in the York Regional Forest; up by over 7,600 trees and shrubs from 2023
• Celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the York Regional Forest, marking York Region’s strong commitment to protecting and restoring the natural environment
• Taking part in 159 outreach events and engaging 16,752 participants to foster environmental stewardship and action
• Maintaining over 77,000 trees along Regional roads and recently acquiring the 65-hectare (161-acre) Sylvestre Woodlands in the Town of East Gwillimbury to grow public greenspaces

“With strong environmental leadership, innovative policies and community-driven action, York Region remains committed to expanding green infrastructure," said City of Richmond Hill Mayor, David West, Chair of Public Works - Environmental Services. "This year, we are reviewing the Greening Strategy and identifying areas to further strengthen our efforts in building a resilient, vibrant natural environment – enhancing air and water quality, reducing flood risks, supporting well-being and preserving wildlife habitats.”

York Regional Council approved a new Street Tree Removal Offsetting Policy to support sustainability goals and standardize offsetting practices. The new policy replaces the previous formula-based calculation with a specific number of trees to offset removal. The number of replacement trees is determined based on size, health condition and species of the removed tree.

Learn more about York Region’s Greening Strategy at york.ca/Greening

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to over 1.25 million residents and 57,000 businesses with more than 629,000 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/RegionalServices

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Media Contacts

Tineil Armstrong, Corporate Communications,
The Regional Municipality of York     
Email: @email

Melissa Pinto, Corporate Communications,
The Regional Municipality of York     
Phone: 437-997-6821
Email: @email