In 2025, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) confirmed funding through the Green Municipal Fund’s (GMF) Growing Canada’s Community Canopy (GCCC) funding with EnviroCentre administering the new program – called Plant Your Place! The Plant Your Place! program is part of the Tree Planting Strategy, the feature project of the Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) for this Term of Council, and supports Council’s strategic priority of building a green and resilient city.
Through the Tree Distribution stream in 2025, 1,213 trees were distributed to residents from all wards of the city across five in-person pick-up events, while the Full-Service stream supported the professional site visits and planting of 50 trees at seven Ottawa Community Housing properties in neighbourhoods with low tree canopy cover. Feedback collected from participants through City-Wide Tree Distribution follow-up surveys was overwhelmingly positive, with 96% rating the tree pick-up events as “excellent”.
In 2026, the program has been expanded to increase the number of trees planted to approximately 2,500 trees on private land and to further prioritize neighbourhoods identified through the City’s Tree Equity Analysis as having the greatest need for trees.
On March 9, 2026 at 9:00am registration opens to residents in Ward 6 – Stittsville who can apply for one tree per planting address by registering online and indicating a pick-up location. There are 16 different tree species from which to choose for your yard. If eligible, you would pick-up and plant your tree and are responsible for the ongoing care and maintenance with information and resources provided to support its health and growth.
Participants with confirmed orders will receive instructions for picking up their tree at the event location they selected. Distribution events will take place at multiple locations across the city in May and early June, allowing participants to choose the location most convenient for them. Each location has a limited number of spots to ensure safe and efficient program delivery.
This program is being carried out with funding from the Government of Canada to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.