By: Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News
Chatham-Kent Council unanimously approved $728,240 for a matching grant through the Green Municipal Fund to have close to 1,000 trees planted throughout the municipality at its March 9 meeting.
The municipality was notified late in 2025 that its application for funding from the GMF’s Growing Canada’s Community Canopies program had been approved.
The grant application proposes planting 948 new trees in Chatham-Kent’s urban communities, an initiative comprising two main components.
One initiative is planting 725 street trees in recently developed residential neighbourhoods in Chatham, Dresden, Pain Court and Tilbury.
These trees will be installed within municipal rights-of-way and become municipal assets.
Most of these street trees are in areas where substantial residential development has occurred since 2019.
The second initiative is planting 223 mature, larger-calibre shade trees in various municipal urban parks. Bothwell and Thamesville will see trees planted under this initiative, along with Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Mitchell’s Bay, Thamesville, Tilbury, Wallaceburg and Wheatley. These trees will be strategically located to increase shade for park users, improve overall park comfort and environmental function.
Ridgetown, however, is among other communities in Chatham-Kent that will be included in future tree-planting initiatives, as Chatham-Kent is eligible to apply for an additional $9.27 million through future grant applications.
“Ridgetown will be a priority in future grant applications by the municipality,” said Gabriel Clark, Chatham-Kent Manager, Growth and Sustainability.
GCCC is a national program delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and funded by the Government of Canada.
GCCC provides grant funding and support programs to communities for expanding, managing and protecting urban tree canopies as a part of Canada’s efforts to plant two billion trees by 2031. The program provides funding for up to 50 per cent of eligible costs, with a maximum of $10 million per community over the lifetime of the initiative.
Chatham-Kent Planning Services, in partnership with Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Facilities, prepared a grant application through 2024-25 to obtain funding through the GCCC initiative.
Council approved the Tree Canopy and Natural Vegetation Enhancement Policy in November of 2024 to advance Chatham-Kent’s commitment to environmental sustainability and community health. This policy builds on a series of strategic Council directives and motions aimed at enhancing the municipality’s natural landscape.
The adoption of this policy also ensures compliance with the Municipal Act, which mandates that municipalities adopt and maintain a policy detailing the manner in which the municipality will protect and enhance tree canopy and natural vegetation.
The policy has a specific goal of achieving 40 % canopy cover in urban areas by 2050.
