Toronto’s urban forest is made up of every single tree and shrub that lives in our city, including those in our ravines, in our parks, on our streets, and in our yards. The urban forest provides many tangible benefits and environmental services – energy conservation, soil protection, wildlife habitat, storm water management, filtration of water and air, and storage of carbon. It also provides us with a sense of well-being and enjoyment.

Sadly, our urban forest is under threat from invasive species, the pressures of climate change, and urban growth. Moreover, Toronto’s trees are not distributed evenly, meaning some folks have lots of trees nearby while other folks don’t, and many trees are reaching the end of their lifespan. We need your help to sustain a healthy, thriving, and expansive urban forest for everyone to enjoy.

Luckily, there is a collective movement in Toronto to grow our urban forest and its canopy cover through increased tree planting efforts. It’s called Every Tree Counts. While the City of Toronto’s Urban Forestry Department plants over 100,000 trees annually on public land, the greatest potential for additional tree planting in Toronto exists on private land. This means that all of us, as individuals, communities, businesses, and institutions, have a big role to play in growing and caring for our city’s trees.

At Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation, we believe everyone should have access to trees and the many benefits they provide. That’s why we’ve partnered with the City of Toronto to offer the Every Tree Counts Granting Program. Each year, with funding from the City of Toronto, the Foundation is able to offer grants to stimulate and sustain community engagement in support of the City’s Every Tree Counts tree planting and stewardship movement.

The result is more trees in our yards, more trees in our communities, and more trees in our city.