In 2003, Councillor Peter Hume initiated a project to plant 10,000 trees in Alta Vista ward. The 2005 spring planting was scheduled for May 7, and the public was invited to participate.

May 7 dawned bright and clear, though chilly. There was a massive turnout of Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, and Venturers plus representatives of multiple other organizations and unattached individuals.

The project was notably well organized. The site (in the Kilborn Greenspace) had been mapped out into a huge grid, with each block conspicuously numbered. Most participants had pre-registered, and were promptly directed to their assigned blocks. The OHS was assigned to Block 5.

Trees and shrubs were waiting in pots, each lot bearing its block number. Block 5 was swampy, so our plants ran to willows and dogwoods.

Scoutmaster Dave McOnie was giving directions on how to plant. A tanker truck of water was waiting on the sidelines and wheelbarrows were at the ready.

Planting proceeded very rapidly, and everyone was finished by 11:30 am. At the end of the day, the total for the project stood at over 5,000.

OHS President Jeff Blackadar manned an information booth.

OHS members also contributed some trees to the project. (White pine, home raised from a seedling).

Junior participants were delighted to meet Smokey, the mascot of the Canadian Forestry Association.

The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky Minister of the Environment brought greetings from the Province and presented Mayor Chiarelli with a cheque for $50,000 "for the City of Ottawa to plant trees". Minister Dombrowsky emphasized the value of involving children in community projects at a very early age.

Councillor Hume, Minister Dombrowsky, Jed Goldberg of Earth Day Canada, Mayor Chiarelli and Trish Anderson of Sunoco and Suncor joined forces to plant a red maple (the first of 150 trees) to mark Ottawa's 150th anniversary.

Michael Tremblay (Senior VP of SAP Canada), a representative of Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc., Mayor Chiarelli (right), with Ontario Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky plants a tree in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the City of Ottawa.

The scouts planted a young tree as part of their 2005 Scouts Canada tree-planting program.

It was a wonderful experience. You might want to mark October 15 on your calendar; that's the date of the fall planting.