The Rotary Club of Guelph, the Grand River Conservation Authority, and the Grand River Conservation Foundation are working together to turn a farm field into a 40-hectare forest at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area.
The club will purchase and organize the planting of 5,000 trees a year over the next 13 years – a total of 65,000 – to establish the Rotary Forest. The GRCA, which owns the land, will prepare the site and then manage the new forest, which is opposite the Guelph Lake Nature Centre, on Conservation Road.
The three project partners will look for community support from other organizations, companies and individuals in the form of donations, tree purchase plans, and help with tree planting.
The project start will take place April 26 at an Earth Day and environmental showcase. The project will end in 2020, which will also be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Rotary Club in Guelph.
“This is a great project for Rotary, the GRCA, and its foundation, but it is mostly a great project for the people of Guelph,” said Eric Beauchamp, president of the Rotary Club of Guelph. “We see this as a significant catalyst in the goal of increasing the urban forest canopy cover in … Guelph.
