City of Regina celebrates National Tree Day by giving away free seedlings

National Tree Day was celebrated in Regina with a tree seedling giveaway. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)

The City of Regina gave away 1,000 tree seedlings on Wednesday, Sept. 21, in celebration of National Tree Day.

From 9 a.m. until noon, anyone walking through Victoria Park could pick up a tree seedling for free, and were able to choose from Ben Nevis Black Currant, Carmine Jewel Cherry, Japanese Empress Elm, or Honey Queen Raspberry.

Seedlings were limited to one per person and given away on a first come, first serve basis.

“Fall is still a great time to plant trees, and now residents can add to Regina’s urban forest with the opportunity to plant on City property,” said Russell Eirich, Manager of Open Space Services.

Eirich said their staff are certified arbourists and also gave out advice throughout the morning.

“Great location of where you put an elm in a sunny location, or a fruit tree in a sunny location like that. They're probably also gonna provide them a bit of advice how to water the tree, those sorts of things. Using a little bit of mulch around the roots to try help it stabilize and get used to things,” he said.

The Forestry Bylaw was recently amended to allow people to plant trees on city property by applying to the Tree Donation Program, according to a release from the City of Regina.

The City of Regina now boasts 500,000 trees which are all hand planted. The oldest tree in the city is in Victoria Park and was planted in 1900.

Regina residents were able to take part in the seedling giveaway celebrating the designation of Tree City of the World on June 1.

The next seedling giveaway will be in the spring for Arbor Day.