Otonabee Conservation wrapped up the fall tree planting season on November 5th by planting a Sugar Maple at Memorial Park, in partnership with City of Kawartha Lakes. Councillor Tracy Richardson, and Otonabee Conservation CAO, Dan Marinigh planted the tree in celebration of Otonabee Conservation’s 60th Anniversary.
Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan 
Township of Douro-Dummer 
Trent Hills 
Selwyn Township 
City of Peterborough 
Township of Asphodel-Norwood 
City of Kawartha Lakes 
Township of Cavan-Monaghan
This fall, members of Council in each of the eight Otonabee Region Watershed Municipalities joined with Otonabee Conservation staff to plant a native species in commemoration of the long-standing relationship with the Conservation Authority.
In 2019, Otonabee Conservation conducted plantings on 24 sites throughout the watershed, putting 43,494 native trees and shrubs in the ground. Our plantings engaged over 450 students and volunteers from across the Region.
“Planting trees is as an effective way to mitigate climate change by removing atmospheric CO2 from the air,” shares Dan Marinigh, CAO of Otonabee Conservation, “Working with landowners and partners to plant trees is a great way for us to work together to build natural resilience in our watershed.”
When trees are first planted, a large proportion of the annual exchange of CO2 goes into growing the tree’s woody biomass. As a tree grows, it continues to sequester carbon through its annual growth rings, along with a proportion that is drawn from leaf litter, which becomes incorporated into the soil below the tree, each fall.
According to Tree Canada calculations, the average Canadian tree sequesters about 200-225 kg of Carbon over an 80-year period. For this year’s plantings, this equates to 8-9 million kg of Carbon sequestered in our watershed region over the lifespan of these trees.
Trees are beneficial for many reasons. They clean the air, help us to stabilize soils, increase the value of property, create habitat, and improve our health.