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Anybody want a tree?

Nine years ago the government of Ontario vowed to plant 50 million trees in southern Ontario by 2020. It has fallen far short of its goal.

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The problem is not a lack of trees. The Ontario Tree Seed Plant has more than five billion tree seeds in storage, and nurseries have millions of seedlings.

For as little as 15 cents a tree, Forests Ontario, a non-profit funded by the province, will plant trees on your land, tend them a year later, and assess their survival in years one, two and five, provided you allocate at least a hectare to future forest. (The landowner agrees to let the trees grow 15 years, but that deal is void if you sell the land).

In 2008, Trees Ontario, now part of Forests Ontario, vowed in a news release that its goal was “to increase tree planting to 10 million trees every year by 2015.” Its 23 employees, including seven in the field, managed to find homes for just three million trees last year. The organization has since moved the deadline to plant 50 million trees five years into the future, to 2025.