City celebrates Earth Day 2021 with free tree giveaway

BRANTFORD, ON – Held annually on April 22, Earth Day is a worldwide day of environmental activism that has been celebrated since 1970. Recognizing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and organizations around the world are adapting to current conditions by providing services and activities for communities to take part in independently while physically distancing from those outside their household. With the health and safety of everyone in our community in mind, the City of Brantford is highlighting initiatives and opportunities for residents to take part in Earth week activities safely. This year, efforts are focused on the City’s active transportation network, tackling litter in our communities, and planting more trees.

Free Tree Giveaway

To celebrate Earth Day 2021 the City is excited to help homeowners plant more trees in Brantford. To support climate action in Brantford, the City is offering 200 FREE trees (18” to 24”) for Brantford residents to plant on their residential property. 

Starting today, homeowners can register online at brantford.ca/FreeTrees on a first come first serve basis to select their preferred tree species and pickup time. Six species of trees will be made available with a limit of one free tree per property. Tree pick up is currently scheduled from May 28th to 30th, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Should COVID-19 restrictions still be in place at that time, the City will send out an additional  communication advising of any required schedule changes. Please note that the free trees must be picked up and planted by residents.

“Earth Day is a time to reflect on ways we can reduce our impact on the planet to make a cleaner and safer world for all of us,” said Rochelle Rumney, the City’s Climate Change Officer. “Planting trees, reducing waste and taking your bike instead of a car are great ways to reduce your environmental footprint;  the next step is keeping those changes in place on all the days that follow.”

Share your tree photos

Please share pictures of your new tree and pictures of you planting your new tree on social media using #BrantfordClimateAction #FreeTrees. Let’s get excited about trees Brantford!

Let’s Talk About Climate Action

Consistent with Brantford City Council’s declaration of a climate emergency, the City of Brantford is committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050. To meet our objective, we have developed a Corporate Climate Change Action Plan to reduce emissions from City run activities such as operating City buildings, buses/trucks and streetlights (just to name a few) and to build a long-term strategic plan to reduce community emissions. To help inform our community plan, the City wants to hear from residents about climate change concerns in their neighbourhoods and ideas for how to reduce both individual and city-wide carbon emissions.

The public engagement campaign – “Let’s Talk about Climate Action” is now open for public feedback at https://letstalkbrantford.ca/let-s-talk-about-climate-action Opportunities for input include a public survey, an online forum to engage with City staff and others in the community, and a Questions tool to ask questions and provide feedback to the City’s Climate Action project team.

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Media Contact: 
Maria Visocchi Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca

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