New trees now inhabit the front lawn of Grey County’s administration building in the first phase of a plan to ‘naturalize’ the property.
A release from the County says, on Saturday, (Oct 15), more than 50 community members joined Grey County and NeighbourWoods North as part of a climate action plan for the tree planting.
The County says twenty young, native species of saplings were planted along with a mixture of shrubs and plants to support biodiversity and sequester carbon.
Part of the Grey County plan’s 21 actions (Going Green in Grey) is to plant 1 million trees by 2030 and 5 million by 2045.
Before putting shovels in the ground, participants had an opportunity to visit a number of booths to learn about community organizations, such as NeighbourWoods North and Master Gardeners. Grey County welcomed Lori Kewaquom, a member of the Saugeen First Nation, who spoke of the importance of our connection to the land and led a drum song prayer.
The County says it approved the climate action plan Going Green in Grey in April. It has the goal of reducing community greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and working towards net-zero emissions by 2050. Grey County as a corporation is aiming for a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from county operations by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2045.