A public planting of street trees along the boulevard of Cowrie Street on Oct. 23 marked the success of Sechelt's 2013 Adopt a Street Tree program.
"Ninety street trees were planted in our community as part of this program," said Mayor John Henderson, noting, "70 were planted adjacent to residential properties."
The trees of varying species were provided to applicants free of charge through the Adopt a Street Tree program.
"As partners in the program, the benefiting property owners have agreed to water these trees for the first two years to ensure they become well established," Henderson said. "Sechelt will also plant 20 trees in our downtown and other public locations."
The program was made possible with a $15,000 grant from TD Green Streets and the public was invited to apply for a free tree of their choosing earlier this year.
The selection included magnolia trees, cherry blossom trees and dogwood trees to name a few. Applicants were able to choose from 30 different varieties.
"A tree absorbs up to forty-eight pounds of carbon dioxide a year and sequesters one ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches forty years old," a press release from the District of Sechelt stated.
"In addition to reducing our carbon emissions, street trees improve the appearance of our community."
TD Green Streets, a flagship program of Tree Canada, has provided funding to almost 500 communities since its inception in 1994, resulting in the planting of thousands of trees across Canada.
