Over 100 Brantford-Brant residents attended the Brant Tree Coalition’s (BTC) 12th annual City of Brantford Community Tree Plant held at D’Aubigny Creek Park on Sunday, April 27, 2025.
Supported by the City of Brantford, Brant Waterways Foundation, Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA), Rotary Club of Brantford, ACIC, and SC Johnson, the event attracted volunteers of all ages who came out to plant over 1,000 native trees and shrubs in the 32 hectare park.
Upon arrival, student volunteers from Pauline Johnson’s e3 program provided a short history about the park and explained how the new trees will help to benefit the land.
“Today you will be planting 1,000 native trees and shrubs to create a buffer in between the park and the river,” said Kennedy Basnett, an e3 student. “This will help to prevent any further erosion as the trail was recently moved away from the river for that very reason. Planting these trees today will also create habitat for any native species, and it will also help to alleviate any of the consequences of climate change.”
Chuck Beach, a BTC event organizer, also added that the residents were also working to help increase the City’s tree canopy (the layer of tree leaves, branches and stems that cover the ground when viewed from above).
“In the coming years, Brantford is predicted to be one of the ten hottest cities in Canada, and one of the reasons is because of the low tree canopy,” he said. “The latest study by the City says that the current tree canopy is sitting at about 21.5 per cent, and it should really be closer to 40 per cent. So as we adapt to climate change, this will help to cool Brantford in the long run.”
Following the welcome, participants then received step-by-step instructions on how to properly plant a tree for the best results, then headed over to the planting area to start digging.
Despite some areas of the ground being tougher to break through, a majority of residents were all smiles as they proudly showed off their newly planted trees and shrubs to their family and friends.
Paris siblings, Isaac and Carly Halsey, said that in the past, they’ve participated in couple tree planting events, both in the city and the counties, and that overall, they enjoy having the chance to give back to the community.
“With it being Earth Week, there’s always talk of what you can do to give back and make a difference, and I feel like this is just a very easy, feel-good way to do that,” said Issac. “We’re so lucky that we’re surrounded by all this wonderful nature here in the city and in Brant County, so what a perfect way to spend the day, right? I love going to local events like this and it’s just a great way for people in the community to get together and give back.”
Throughout the morning, the two were happy to share their tree-planting progress with the Brant Beacon, picking up speed and efficiency along the way.
The Brantford event was just one of two held throughout the weekend as the BTC also had over 200 people come out to plant 800 trees in the Mount Pleasant Nature Park during the tenth annual tree plant for the County on Saturday.
As far as upcoming events, the Rotary Club of Brantford will be hosting a tree planting event on May 10 at Rotary Park on Blackburn Drive in Brantford, with the objective of planting 250 trees.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
