Burlington City Council approves Urban Forest Master Plan

Burlington City Council approved the Urban Forest Master Plan and Woodland Management Strategy. Staff will use both as guiding documents to protect and improve Burlington’s tree canopy over the next 20 years.

The Urban Forest Master Plan and Woodland Management Strategy have five focus areas to help the City work collaboratively with partners and the community to protect and manage Burlington’s urban forest. These actions include:

1. Maximizing the life expectancy of trees by:

1. expanding the City’s program capacities,
2. formalizing the City’s maintenance standards and
3. improving how the City monitors and reports on its trees.

Trees are most expensive to maintain when they are first planted as well as later in life when their health begins to decline. Keeping mature trees healthy for as long as possible makes the most of the City’s investment.

2. Increasing canopy cover on both public and private land including woodlandsthrough:

1. formal planting agreements with partners,
2. issuing community tree planting grants and
3. applying for provincial and federal grants.

3. Developing best practices to manage climate change and invasive pests.

This will be done through the creation of a city-wide biodiversity strategy, and other tactics. It costed $10 million to manage the invasive Emerald Ash Borer. By increasing biodiversity, the City can reduce the risk, impact and costs associated with invasive pests.

4. Expanding opportunities for the community to get involved

Meeting the goals set out in the Urban Forest Master Plan will be a shared responsibility. The City has identified an opportunity to establish a Community Tree Board and invite representatives from all wards, the Indigenous community, home building associations, environmental agencies and conservation authorities to collectively work together to implement the action items set out in the Urban Forest Master Plan.

5. Improving data analytics

Every five years, the City will share a State of the Urban Forest Report. It will measure maintenance activities and adapt to climate challenges. The last State of the Urban Forest Report was published in 2022.

City staff project that it will cost $300,000 a year over the next 10 years to implement the 47 action items in the Urban Forest Master Plan. Funding will be requested and managed through the City’s annual budget process.