Winnipeg, MB – The Government of Canada and City of Winnipeg announced today an exciting new grant program designed to facilitate community involvement in tree planting and support the growth of our urban forest.
Funded by the Government of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program, the Home Grown grant will provide successful community organizations with up to $20,000 each to design and coordinate tree planting projects in 2023.
“Trees create greener, more vibrant neighbourhoods, and by engaging community groups in volunteer planting efforts we can make these benefits accessible to more Winnipeggers,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham. “This is just one component of the city’s long-term strategy to renew our urban forest, and I look forward to announcing more investments in the weeks ahead.”
Winnipeg received more than $7 million over three years for its program and was one of many municipalities across Canada to receive project funding this year through 2 Billion Trees.
“Today I was pleased to join Mayor Gillingham in launching the Home Grown tree planting grant program,” says Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Supported by over $7 million from the federal government, this investment in Winnipeg will bring about over 71,000 new trees. On behalf of the Government of Canada, we are proud to be supporting climate action, clean air and sustainable jobs here in Winnipeg.”
“Canada’s commitment to plant two billion trees is a key part of our collective effort to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss,” says the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources. “Our partnership with the City of Winnipeg to launch the Home Grown tree planting grant program will plant over 71,000 trees. This will help capture and store carbon from the atmosphere, improve air and water quality, and enhance local biodiversity while creating sustainable jobs.”
In addition to the funding, successful Home Grown grant applicants will receive one-on-one guidance and oversight from a City of Winnipeg arborist and ongoing support to ensure their respective programs’ success.
To be eligible, community organizations must be either incorporated or a registered not-for-profit and have identified a planting site on public property within their respective community. Priority will be given to organizations who serve underserved communities or geographic areas of higher poverty.
Full application criteria and application forms can be found at winnipeg.ca/homegrowngrant.
The application deadline for the 2023 planting year is March 1, 2023.