Tree planting

Program

The Commemorative Tree Program was established in 1989. The City assists families or groups who wish to have a tree planted in a City park in remembrance or to commemorate a loved one who has passed away.

Process

As part of the Tree Planting Strategy Project, City staff will be reviewing the Commemorative Tree Program to improve efficiency and look to broaden application criteria. As such, the intake of requests for the Commemorative Tree Program will be temporarily paused beginning January 15th, 2024. All requests received on or before January 14th, 2024, will be processed for the 2024 planting season. Requests received after this time will be added to a waitlist.

The intake process for the Program will re-open late Summer 2024 for the 2025 planting season once the program has been successfully updated.

If you wish to be contacted by the City when the intake process reopens, please contact 3-1-1 to be added to the wait list.

Do you know the perfect spot for a tree?

The City of Ottawa is committed to planting trees for the enhancement of our city parks, facilities, and streets. We are taking a proactive approach to the identification of tree planting opportunities on a citywide basis.

The City of Ottawa’s Forestry Services will work with your community group to determine appropriate locations for trees within your community. Project development will include opportunities for input from the public and other city departments, utility clearance checks, appropriate species selection, and an implementation plan for the planting and maintenance of the trees.

Streetscaping

Whether in the urban core area, along suburban streets, or rural roadsides, Forestry Services will work with your community group to enhance city streetscapes through the planting of new trees. Projects may include restoring urban streetscapes, rehabilitation of traffic islands on cul-de-sacs, tree planter rehabilitation, or tree planting in rural villages.

Parks and Facilities tree planting

Forestry Services will partner with your community group to identify new tree planting opportunities within City of Ottawa parks and at city-owned facilities. Projects may include such initiatives as the placement of trees around play structures or benches, the creation of windbreaks, or the planting of trees for shade.

Should you require more information on how your community group may submit tree planting locations to enhance our city streets, parks and facilities, please contact 3-1-1.

The City of Ottawa's Green Acres program is looking for empty idle fields to be transformed into thriving green woodlands. The program provides landowners with advice and assistance for setting up a proper planting plan for their property(properties).

Landowners must be rural property owners within City of Ottawa boundaries, have a minimum of 0.4 hectares (1 acre) of suitable land and must agree to cover the subsidized cost of the tree seedlings, site preparation, planting and tending as well as agreeing to reasonably protect the plantation. The program will provide landowners with:

• Subsided tree seedlings
• Advice and assistance in setting up a proper planting plan
• Assistance caring for the trees after they are planted

The funding is provided to a maximum of 50% on a cost shared basis. Applicants must contact the LandOwner Resource Centre to verify that the proposed project is located in the eligible area and meets the funding guidelines.

Watch this information video on the program and its benefits. 

For more information contact:
LandOwner Resource Centre
www.Irconline.com
info@Irconline.com
613-692-3571
1-800-387-5304

Application deadline

Applications must be received by the City by June 1. Applications that are approved will be planted or funding awarded for spring season the following year. A minimum of one site visit with a City representative is required as part of the grant review process and must be completed between June 1 and December 1 of the application year.

Application form

Typical project timeline

Eligible projects

Tree planting projects on school property within the City of Ottawa are eligible to apply for the Schoolyard Tree Planting Grant Program. Applications will be accepted from Student or Parent Councils, environmental/garden clubs, or other groups/ individuals that can demonstrate a commitment to the tree planting project in partnership with the school. In addition to project coordination, applicants must demonstrate the ability to perform tree maintenance activities.

Funding will not be awarded for projects that have already been completed. Groups may receive funding in successive years however; priority will be given to those groups who have not received past funding. Groups receiving funding will not be eligible for funding for tree planting through other City of Ottawa grant programs within the same year. 

Projects are eligible for funding to cover the purchase and installation of trees only. The following project elements are not eligible for funding:

• Site furnishings (benches, gazebos, play structures, etc.)
• Ponds 
• Pathways 
• Fencing
• Signage
• Planters 
• Site preparation
• Cedar hedges
• Shrubs, perennials, grasses or other ground covers
• Other non-tree related item

Expenditures and reporting

Funding must be spent and projects completed within eighteen months (18) of grant approval. For projects which have received funding dollars, submission of receipts is required within 3 months of expenditures. The City reserves the right to reduce or reject a previously approved funding application if the required documentation is not submitted within three months of project completion. 

A final project report is due by May 1 in the year following project installation and must include the number of trees planted, an evaluation of your tree maintenance program, and photographs of the new plantings. Recipients must acknowledge the City’s support from the Schoolyard Tree Planting Grant program in any news articles or related promotional material related to the project. 

Follow-up inspections by Forestry Services staff may be conducted to verify the plant installation and use of appropriate maintenance techniques and to suggest appropriate measures if problems arise. After the tree is planted, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the trees are watered and maintained to ensure healthy growth and establishment and that the trees will remain in their planted location.

Grant Evaluation Report (PDF)

Funding levels

The maximum grant funding level in any one year is $10,000. Grants may be awarded in funds (up to $500 per tree) or in trees supplied and planted by the City of Ottawa’s Forestry Services. No matching funding is required on the part of the applicant. The number of projects awarded each year is subject to the availability of City funds for this program. A limited number of schoolyard projects each planting season will be awarded with trees. The selection of these projects is at the discretion of Forestry Services.

For all project inquiries, please contact: 3-1-1