NEWS RELEASE
SUSTAINABLE ORILLIA
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On a beautiful September Saturday, Sustainable Orillia and the City of Orillia celebrated National Tree Day by planting many dozens of trees throughout Orillia and beyond.
Volunteers and city councillors came together to plant two dozen trees in York Street Park (opposite Samuel-de-Champlain Catholic Elementary School). Six dozen more trees, together with planting instructions, were given away to area residents to take home and plant on their own properties. Financial support from Sustainable Orillia meant that trees were supplied at no cost to planters.
In addition to refreshments and Wilkie’s cookies, on offer were a variety of native trees and shrubs sourced locally from local Coldwater-area grower Stone Row Farm. Trees included native species such as sugar maple, red oak, white oak, paperbirch, staghorn sumac, eastern white cedar, white pine and American hazelnut. Native shrubs were also available: common ninebark, white meadowsweet, purple-flowered raspberry and red osier dogwood.
Tree Planting Day (Sept. 28) celebrates trees and the value they add to our lives, our community and our planet. Trees clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and provide habitat to over 80 per cent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Forests provide jobs to over 1.6 billion people, absorb harmful carbon from the atmosphere, and are key ingredients in 25 per cent of all medicines. Anyone who has ever taken an Aspirin can thank the bark of a tree. As a bonus, trees are beautiful.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
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