Tree Canada seeks support for tree planting recovery efforts after Hurricane Dorian’s damage in Atlantic Canada

Ottawa, ON (September 18, 2019) – Tree Canada, Canada’s leading national tree planting charity, announced today that it is launching an ambitious greening initiative for Atlantic Canada residents to replace the trees lost to Hurricane Dorian.

On the evening of Saturday, September 7, 2019, Hurricane Dorian, then downplayed from a Category 2 hurricane to a post-tropical storm with hurricane-strength winds, made landfall near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Downing trees and power lines, the storm left damage in its wake leaving over 100,000 homes and businesses in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick without power and cell phone reception.

With complex restoration needed and work already underway clearing roads and removing downed trees, Tree Canada’s #OperationReLeaf  hopes to provide funding to homeowners, private landowners and institutions to replace as many of the trees lost as possible. To achieve this goal, the national organization is encouraging individuals and members of the business community to provide their support by visiting treecanada.ca/#releaf.

Quotes:

“We understand the devastating effects that this storm has had on each of the Maritime communities and marvel at their resiliency after such a disaster. Throughout the recovery process, Tree Canada will be there to work with affected neighbourhoods to bring back the beauty and sense of home that only new trees can bring.”

– 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.
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 was launched following the 1996 floods in Saguenay, Quebec. Tree Canada’s currently active #OperationReLeafs are focused on fighting Mountain Pine Beetle in Alberta, Emerald Ash Borer in Quebec and our ongoing multi-year efforts to restore community greenspaces hit by wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia.  In 2017, Tree Canada’s #OperationReLeaf Fort McMurray raised enough money to plant more than 70,000 trees, restoring greenspaces in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta and in 2018, Tree Canada’s #OperationReLeaf Ottawa-Gatineau Tornadoes provided area residents with funding to plant trees lost.

More information:

Interested members of the business community wishing to contribute are encouraged to visit Tree Canada’s #OperationReLeaf program

For interviews, photos and more information:

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

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