About Trees 4 Tomorrow
Trees 4 Tomorrow is Conservancy Hornby Island's land-based climate action campaign. Our goal is to plant 10,000 trees per year across the Salish Sea coastal region to help fight the effects of climate change. We work with forestry professionals and other environmental organizations to choose trees that are better adapted to the effects of global temperature rise.
We know that education is key in ensuring a green future for generations to come. Trees 4 Tomorrow also focuses on education through community engagement activities, events, and publicly available resources.
Why Are Trees so Important?
Carbon Sinks
Trees absorb carbon out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it in their trunks, branches, foliage, and roots. In the process of turning carbon into wood, trees release oxygen into the air. Mature trees sequester an average of 22kg of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. A single tree can remove more than one ton of carbon from the atmosphere in its lifetime.
Drought Resistance
Trees provide shade which regulates temperature in summer, they also can hold huge amounts of water which is released to the air and soil slowly over time, even during dry spells.
Reduce Energy Consumption
Strategically placed trees on the sunny side of a house can reduce air-conditioning costs by up to 30%. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter, exposing the house to the warming winter sun, which lowers the energy needed to heat the house. Coniferous trees, because they retain their needles year-round, serve to reduce wind when placed on the north and northwest sides of a building, resulting in significantly lower winter heating costs.
Improve Soil Integrity and Water Quality
Tree roots hold soil in place, reducing erosion. As a result, trees lessen the force of storms and reduce the amount of runoff into sewers, streams, and rivers, improving water quality. One hundred mature trees can intercept about 100,000 gallons of rainfall per year.
Pillars of the Ecosystem
Plants and animals use trees as a structure and starting point for a plethora of ecosystems. Wherever trees are established, more plants and animals are sure to follow, ensuring healthier ecosystems.
The list goes on and on!
Our Tree Planting Projects
Adopt Garry Oak Seedlings
Garry oaks are well adapted to warm, dry summers and wet winters making them the perfect tree for our Trees 4 Tomorrow project. CHI has partnered with the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society and we are looking for homes for hundreds of Garry oak seedlings! Fall and winter are the perfect time to plant Garry oaks and GOMPS provides an excellent planting and care guide for your new precious seedlings. If you are interested in adopting some Garry oaks by donation please send us an email to chitrees4tomorrow@gmail.com or click the link below.
Beulah Creek Salmon Restoration Project
In November 2020, children and parents from Hornby Island Community School joined Trees 4 Tomorrow tree planters in planting native seedlings at Beulah Creek following the construction of a series of rock riffles, spawning platforms, pools, and large woody debris structures to help restore the riparian salmon habitat.
Funding and in-kind support for this project were provided by Conservancy Hornby Island, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Salmon Foundation, The Wardle Family, Comox Valley Community Foundation, Fanny Bay Enhancement Society, Hornby Island Community School, Current Environmental Ltd., Hyland Precast, Ridgeline Excavating and Middle Mountain Mine.
Galiano Community Forest
In the fall of 2020, CHI tree planters planted 4000 trees on Galiano Island to assist The Galiano Club’s efforts to restore their Community Forest which suffered from a devastating wildfire in 2006.
CHI is extremely grateful for the support of the Galiano Club and Galiano Conservancy in this project. CHI relies on donations to purchase trees for Trees 4 Tomorrow in order to aid restoration projects like this one.
Residential Tree Planting
Thanks to the support of many Gulf Island and Vancouver Island residents, over 10,000 trees have been planted on residential properties across Hornby Island, Denman Island, Gabriola Island, and the Comox Valley Area.
We still have lots of trees to plant! If you own acreage in the Salish Sea Coastal Region and would like to register your property as a Trees 4 Tomorrow planting site, send us an e-mail at chitrees4tomorrow@gmail.com. You can also support the project by donating online to help us purchase trees – we’ll find places to plant them for you!
TREES 4 TOMORROW NEWS
July 12, 2021 | CHI is very excited to announce that our climate action project Trees 4 Tomorrow has received the support of Comox Valley Regional District through the Road to 2030 Climate Action Challenge! CHI's Trees 4 Tomorrow project has already planted over 15,000 trees across the Salish Sea region which will result in an additional 330,000 kg of CO2 being removed from the atmosphere annually!
February 12, 2021 | Comox Valley Nature partnered with Conservancy Hornby Island (CHI) in supporting the Trees 4 Tomorrow tree planting initiative. The two organizations were awarded a $2500 grant from BC Nature, with the proceeds to augment purchasing of seedlings for planting. If CVRD residents would like to get involved with Trees 4 Tomorrow, please e-mail chitrees4tomorrow@gmail.com.
Ph: pamelaandersonfoundation.org
September 8, 2021 | The Pamela Anderson Foundation generously donated $5000 to the Trees 4 Tomorrow project which made a huge impact on CHI’s ability to purchase trees to plant in Galiano’s community forest to aid restoration efforts following a devastating wild fire that occurred in 2006. CHI is extremely grateful for Pamela Anderson’s continued support of important environmental projects.