If you want to grow a tree in your backyard, now is the time to do so.
Sales are underway for the Tree Power Program in London. The goal of the program is to create a greener and more beautiful community by providing affordable native hardwood and evergreen trees for residents.
The idea of selling trees started 11 years ago, when an employee with London Hydro approached staff from Upper Thames River, speaking about the importance of growing trees to keep houses cooler. The company then started sponsoring trees through Thames River so residents could purchase affordable and good native trees.
The program is offering nine varieties of tree species this year, and it’s based on trying to provide residents with a variety to choose from, also depending on what’s available at nurseries.
‘’This year, we’re selling 500 trees. Last year, we sold 600,’’ says Emily Chandler, communications specialist at Upper Thames River.
‘’Something different is that we are providing evergreen trees. In the past, we only had native hardwood trees. We’re testing it out to see if that diversity is appealing to residents’’.
According to her, the program has sold out every year by the end of tree pickup day.
‘’Each tree is $25. So, we feel like that’s a pretty reasonable price. It’s a really dramatic reduction in what they would cost if you were just buying them directly from a nursery. So in terms of being available to residents, I think it’s a really great deal that hopefully inspires people to purchase trees and plant them on their properties.’’
For Londoners who want to purchase a tree: they are available as of today, March 14th, and pick-up days are on April, on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th. More information can be found online at thamesriver.on.ca/shop. There, residents can find out about the selection of the nine species that they can choose from.
‘’There’s a little description of what each tree has in terms of the leaves or how big it can get, whether or not it has berries that attract birds, etc,’’ says Chandler.
‘’Trees are very beneficial in terms of cleaning the air. The root system is really important in terms of helping with flooding and erosion. Personally, the biggest benefit that I see from the trees that I have in my yard, it’s just all of the different species that they support.’’
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