City of Ottawa planning to plant 24 commemorative trees, not 4,800, to mark Bytown’s 200th birthday

A tree is pictured in Ottawa in this undated photo.

As part of Ottawa 200 celebrations to mark the bicentennial of the founding of Bytown, a city committee has approved a plan to plant one tree in each of the city’s 24 wards.

This follows a study into a proposal to plant 200 trees in each ward — 4,800 in all — which city staff said was not feasible.

A report prepared for the environment and climate change committee said planting 200 trees in each city ward would take two years to plan and cost $750,000. Planting all 200 in the same place would also not be feasible.

In place of the 4,800-tree plan, staff recommended planting 24 trees through the city’s existing tree dedication program.

“One 50mm caliper tree would be planted in a park location within each ward. Through the Tree Dedication program, a planting location has been identified in each ward. These sites have already been approved internally and are ready for planting. Staff will connect with each councillor on the locations,” staff said.

Staff say this would cost approximately $50,000 and would be absorbed within the existing tree-planting budget. This includes the plaque, planting the tree, and three years of watering.

Each tree will be planted in the fall and will be accompanied by a special Ottawa 200 plaque to mark the occasion.

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