National Tree Day
September 24, 2018
(External News) National Tree Day has been happening on the third Wednesday of September during National Forest Week ever since 2011. Tree Canada, a registered charity dedicated to planting and nurturing trees, was instrumental in establishing a Tree Day in Canada. The challenge posed by the charity this year is to plant more than 4,000 trees in five urban spaces on September 26, 2018 - Montreal, QC, St. John’s, NL, Markham, ON, Winnipeg, MB, and Coquitlam, BC.
Canada is home to 140 species of native trees. The roles that trees play in maintaining functioning ecosystems and biodiversity are too many to count. One of the most apparent of these is by providing food and shelter to a multitude of animals in all parts of the world, from the tiny tree hopper, to thousands of species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and even fish, such as in mangrove ecosystems.
In our urban environments where most of the planet’s human population lives, trees offer many benefits. They filter the air by removing dust, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide and their far-reaching roots can help minimize soil loss due to erosion. Trees also reduce runoff by absorbing and storing rainwater and the shading they provide can help keep people, animals, and houses cool on hot summer days.