The city of Coquitlam is turning to private-property owners to help in its effort to add 10,000 new trees in the municipality over the next two years.

Because past tree-planting initiatives have focused on public lands, staff said the city is running out of space on its own property to plant more trees. This has forced the city to look elsewhere for future planting programs.

“We are running out of locations,” said Lori MacKay, the city’s general manager of leisure and parks services. “This is one of the motivations for why we are trying to increase planting on other properties.”

The Adopt-a-Tree program is one way the city will increase the number of trees on private property. Staff expects more than 4,500 trees to be planted in 2010 as a result of this initiative, which will see saplings handed out to residents at city events.

Staff will ensure saplings are given out to people with the adequate yard space for a tree and will collect information from participants to follow up and assess the number of trees that have been planted.

The city will also partner with local arbourists for its Tree Planting Home Visit and Subsidy Program. Residents who participate in this initiative would receive a home visit and advice on the best place on their property to plant and information on how to maintain the tree.

Staff say the program will lead to the increase of 250 trees in the city.

A further 250 trees will be planted on civic property in 2010 and 440 trees will be planted by developers. Staff said if funding can be approved for 2011, it could continue the program to reach the goal of 10,000 in two years.

The 2010 portion of the initiative will cost the city $55,000, with staff using outside funding sources from the provincial Trees for Tomorrow and federal Tree Canada program.

In 2009, the city spent $54,000, with a further $44,000 coming from higher levels of government, which led to the planting of 2,620 trees in parks across the municipality.

While all councillors voted in favour of the program, Coun. Selina Robinson said it should be seen as one part to a larger strategy. She added that the city should be counting the number of trees that currently exist in the municipality.

“We don’t have a tree inventory,” Robinson said. “The idea is to increase the trees we have in our community but, theoretically, the way our current tree bylaws stands, now people can remove two trees a year.”

gmckenna@tricitynews.com