Planting Story: Reforestation Project in Preeceville, Saskatchewan

In June 2021, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation planted 39,915 White Spruce seedlings near Preeceville, Saskatchewan, through Tree Canada’s National Greening Program.

We are excited to showcase this reforestation project through photos, to show you, our readers, what a planting project looks like from start to end!

The seedlings were grown in trays at a nursery.

They were then wrapped in bundles to keep them cool and moist for transportation.

The bundles of seedlings were then packed in boxes and transported to the planting site.

Here is the planting team that was on site to help get seedlings in the ground!

Once the seedlings were on site, the tree planters placed each bundle into a planting bag to help carry them across the site. Each seedling was hand planted, one by one.

As the seedlings were being planted, flagging tape was used to indicate their location. It is important to use flagging tape as the planting sites often include natural growth, making it a challenge to see where the small seedlings are planted.

The work doesn’t stop there! After each planting project is completed, Tree Canada audits the site and conducts survival assessments one, two and five years after the trees are planted. These assessments help us determine mortality rates, indicating whether trees need to be replanted or if they can be labelled as ‘Free to Grow’!