New Westminster – In June of this year, the City of New Westminster announced that it had received $1.7 M in provincial and federal funding for its Urban Reforestation and Biodiversity Enhancement Initiative (URBEI) as part of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) – COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream (CVRIS). Since the announcement, City staff have identified the first 200 of 2,200 locations for planting new trees in New Westminster’s parks and open spaces.

“URBEI funding allows the City to accelerate our climate action goal to increase the city’s tree canopy cover from 18% to 27% by 2030 to offset carbon emissions,” said Mayor Jonathan X. Cote. “I’m grateful to the provincial and federal governments for investing in local green infrastructure, and supporting our efforts to fight climate change and enhance the quality of life for our residents.”

Tree planting will begin in November 2021 in the Queensborough and West End neighbourhoods, specifically in Grimston Park, Old Schoolhouse Park, Ryall Park, and Thompson’s Landing Park. In addition to the planting of 2,200 new trees, URBEI will also include the rewilding of one hectare of turf grass to native pollinator, medicinal and food plants. The next round of parks and open spaces scheduled for tree planting and specific location(s) for rewilding will be determined in early 2022.

The City of New Westminster acknowledges the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for selecting New Westminster’s Urban Reforestation and Biodiversity Enhancement Initiative and investing in the growth of our urban forest to provide equitable distribution of tree canopy cover, ecological services and beautification, today and into the future, for neighbourhoods across New Westminster.

Learn more about the City’s Urban Forest Management Strategy at newwestcity.ca/urbanforest and watch the video to hear Mayor Cote speak further about this initiative.

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Media Contact:
Erika Mashig
Manager Parks & Open Space Planning, Design and Construction
604-527-4530 or