Environment and Climate Change Committee

behalf of Councillor R. Brockington: WHEREAS 2026 will mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown; and WHEREAS the City of Ottawa is celebrating the occasion across the region through festivals and community initiatives; and WHEREAS in 2025, Forestry Services was directed to explore the feasibility of planting trees across all wards as a means to leave a legacy commemorating the occasion; and WHEREAS the feasibility study confirmed that City of Ottawa has existing locations in parks available as part of the Tree Dedication Program in all Wards; and WHEREAS Forestry Services’ existing budget could be used to fund the purchase and planting of the commemorative trees, installation of plaques, and associated maintenance costs; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Environment and Climate Change Committee recommend that Council approve that the City of Ottawa commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown by planting one tree per Ward during the 2026 fall planting season as part of the Ottawa 200 Celebrations; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that that Forestry Services use planting locations already-approved through the Tree Dedication Program for the celebratory trees; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all costs related to the commemorative plantings be funded using the existing Forestry Services’ budget.

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa is marking the 200th anniversary of Bytown through a range of commemorative initiatives; and WHEREAS Council directed staff to assess the feasibility of planting 200 trees per ward to create a lasting environmental legacy as part of these celebrations; and WHEREAS staff have advised that planting 200 trees per ward would cost approximately $750,000 and could not be implemented until 2028 due to planning, procurement, and resource constraints; and WHEREAS this would have resulted in approximate costs of $156 per tree planted; and WHEREAS staff have proposed an alternative of planting one tree per ward (24 trees total) in 2026, along with a 24 commemorative plaques, through the existing Tree Dedication Program at an estimated cost of $50,000; and WHEREAS this would result in approximate costs of $2,083 per tree planted, due to the costs of the commemorative plaque; and WHEREAS Council has identified increasing the urban tree canopy as a key environmental priority; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to allocate the $50,000 towards the planting of 200 trees outside of the existing tree planting budget, in one or more areas to be determined by Staff based on canopy needs, and in such a manner that maximizes the number of trees and minimizes the number of plaques, and that this planting be seen as a properly-balanced commemorative initiative.