The City of Kelowna has increased the number of trees that need to be planted to maintain the urban tree canopy.
This week, council was told the current goals of the Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy (SUFS) are not enough to meet the needs of the city’s growing population.
Currently, 22% of Kelowna’s land area is covered by tree coverage, excluding the Agricultural Land Reserve.
A staff report said grassland cities like Kelowna typically have 20-25% of canopy cover.
However, a staff report said that the canopy coverage is not distributed equally throughout the community.
The report said the Gateway and Urban Centres have the lowest canopy coverage at 10% and 12%, respectively.
That increases moving from the Core Area to the suburbs and rural areas, which is where 80% of Kelowna’s tree canopy is found.
About 78% of the city’s urban forest also falls on private lands.
“Based on this new analysis the strategy recommends revising the canopy coverage targets,” Todd Cashin, the city’s urban forestry manager, told council.
“This new analysis takes into consideration the current canopy coverage, current land use, percentage of impervious areas, potential playable areas on both public and private lands and where canopy coverage is needed to support higher population densities.”
Councillors were told it is estimated that nearly 80,000 trees will need to be planted by the City, residents, developers, and businesses over the next two decades.
That means about 1,200 more trees need to be planted annually than what is currently planted, which is estimated at about 2,000 per year.
The time frame to increase the city’s tree canopy has also been bumped from 2040 to 2050.
Cashin said there will be a need to focus on education, programs, incentives and regulation updates to encourage more planting on private lands.
“It’s integral to improve governance and awareness of urban forest management, strengthen community partnerships, as well as improve public participation in the strategy’s implementation,” Cashin said when reviewing the 10 key strategies of the update plan.
Cashin said that can include participating in engagement, such as the session held this summer, and programs like the NeighbourWoods.
The program, which begins today and will run until Sept. 17, allows residents to purchase one of eight tree varieties for $50 plus GST.
Thumbnail photo credit: City of Kelowna
