HAMILTON – The 419 trees planted in the Diocese of Niagara last fall for the Communion Forest are experiencing their first spring. The deciduous and coniferous trees are in four parishes that were selected for planting.
The Communion Forest is a global initiative within the Anglican Communion focused on tree growing, ecosystem conservation, protection, and restoration as a practical, spiritual, and symbolic response to the environmental crisis. It is a Christian hope for the well-being of humanity and creation.
With a $7,500 grant from the Anglican Foundation and matching funds by the Diocese of Niagara, Climate Justice Niagara was able to hire Green Venture to assist with the implementation of the initiative.
Initially, 23 parishes completed the survey used for the selection process. Based on elements like water access and number of volunteers, 13 parishes ended up moving to the next step, which involved completing a tree inventory on parish property. In the end, four parishes were chosen to move ahead to plant a variety of trees before the end of last November.
The first to plant was St. Paul’s, an urban parish that identified a gap on the west side of the building for four beautiful trees. St. David, Welland had the perfect spot to plant a special tree for its 75th anniversary. St. John, Nelson had room to plant 14 trees. With advice from Green Venture, it chose a mixture of seedlings: red maples, sugar maples, balsam firs, and white pines. The parish volunteers received extra help from the Rainbow Kings and Queens, a diocesan group that supports LGBTQ2 refugees from African countries with homophobic policies. St. Paul, Caledonia planted a mini-forest, a mix of 400 trees planted in a 10-metre square. The forest includes black maple, red maple and yellow birch.
Climate Justice Niagara is currently looking for other grant opportunities to continue tree planting in the communities within the diocese.
The Niagara Anglican
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