The Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region is now home to 1,000 more trees due to a national initiative meant to reduce the carbon footprint of the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec that is held this month.
In an effort to make the summit an environmentally responsible event, the federal government made an agreement with the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve which included the planting of 100,000 trees across 14 of Canada’s 18 UNESCO biosphere reserves.
Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) was included in the 14 sites, with 1,000 Douglas firs having been planted within Top Bridge Park.
On April 6, 45 youth ranging in age from three to 25 helped to plant the trees with the help of TimberWest (which donated the trees) and Vancouver Island University forestry students.
MABR partnered with the City of Parksville, Snaw-Naw-As First Nation, TimberWest and VIU.
Parksville council passed a resolution including the 50-year protection of 1,000 trees at Top Bridge Park, while TimberWest will work with MABR over the next few years to ensure an 85-per-cent survival rate among planted trees.
The trees are intended to offset about 143 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
To commemorate the planting, participants and partners gathered for the installation of signage adjacent to the tree-planting site on June 13.
— NEWS Staff/City of Parksville news release
