This fall our community came together to nurture the urban forest canopy of the Village of Cumberland with a new CCFS pilot project called Forest in the Village! The project responds to key recommendations in the Village of Cumberland’s Urban Forest Management Plan and is focused on increasing the Village’s urban canopy through collective action, urban , community education, bulk purchasing of climate resilient species, and community plantings.
Urban areas have a vital role to play in the global effort to manage impacts from climate change. Urban forests protect biodiversity, provide habitat, filter air pollution, sequester carbon, reduce surface temperatures during heat waves, and respond to extreme weather events like atmospheric rivers and droughts through storing and slowly releasing water.
The rapid growth of our community has increased the need to protect and enhance the urban forest canopy. New development nodes are lacking adequate green spaces and many trees in our older neighbourhoods are at the end of their life cycle. New and replacement plantings are both needed to ensure our future includes a thriving urban forest.
On October 15th 125 families and individuals engaged in a community-wide tree planting day adding 125 Flowering Red Currants, Vine Maples, Native Dogwoods and Red Alders to the Village’s urban forest canopy. In addition, the Village of Cumberland Parks Supervisor delivered a hands on tree planting workshop to help ensure the success of plantings. We look forward to building on our successes with this pilot in 2024!
Thanks to Streamside Native Plants, Outback Nursery, Comox Valley Community Foundation, First Credit Union and the Village of Cumberland for their support for this initiative.
“ There can be no purpose more inspiring than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us.” ~ E.O. Wilson