Tree Canada takes proactive fight to counter Emerald Ash Borer: Granting program teams up with BioForest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2019 (Ottawa, ON) – Tree Canada, Canada’s leading national tree charity, in partnership with BioForest, are taking on the oncoming path of the emerald ash borer to protect ash trees in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba through Tree Canada’s Operation ReLeaf Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) program.

The EAB program aims to empower selected municipalities, communities or organizations with TreeAzin™, a botanical insecticide with very low environmental impact that helps stop the effects of emerald ash borer infestations. The donations of TreeAzin™ are made possible through the generous support of BioForest.

Applications for municipalities, communities, Indigenous communities or organizations to receive quantities of TreeAzin™ are now open and close on April 21, 2019.

The emerald ash borer insect is one of the biggest killers of Canada’s ash tree population. The pest, originally from Asia, was first detected in 2002 in southern Ontario, however its range has since expanded into new regions across the country to now include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

Since 2013, Tree Canada has been on the front lines fighting the spread of EAB in Canada by working with municipalities across the country. Communities use TreeAzin™ along with other management techniques to minimize the effects of the beetle. One of the best ways to prevent the spread of the pest is to prohibit the movement of any ash trees or firewood from infested areas.

Quotes:

“We appreciate the cooperation of the many municipalities affected by Emerald Ash Borer and are thankful to our partner BioForest for helping  protect ash trees. We urge people to think twice about moving firewood around, a major vector for this and other tree pests.”

– Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada

 About Tree Canada

Tree Canada is the non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of Canadians by planting and nurturing trees. Through our programs, research and educational efforts, we have helped restore tree cover in areas hit by natural disasters, guided communities in managing their urban forests, helped green 660 schoolyards and organized annual urban forest conferences. To date, with our community partners and sponsors, we have planted more than 82 million trees. Get involved or learn more about us at treecanada.ca.

About #OperationReLeaf

Tree Canada’s #OperationReLeaf programs have been helping communities recover from natural disasters and pests for more than 20 years. The first #OperationReLeaf response came to the aid of the areas touched by the 1996 floods in Saguenay, Quebec. Tree Canada is currently focused on fighting the Alberta Mountain Pine Beetle, the Emerald Ash Borer and our ongoing multi-year efforts to restore community greenspaces hit by wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia.

For interviews, photos and more information:

Media Inquiries
Cristiane Doherty
Manager of Communications and Marketing, Tree Canada
cdoherty@treecanada.ca
613-567-5545 ext. 224

Operation ReLeaf EAB Program and Grants
Michael Petryk
Program Manager, Tree Canada
mpetryk@treecanada.ca
613-567-5545 ext. 234