The City of North Vancouver is developing an Urban Forest Plan to better protect, manage and grow the urban forest to deliver long-term benefits to our community.
The urban forest is an interconnected ecosystem that includes all the trees and supporting vegetation in the community, and it is located on public and private property such as parks, front and back yards, streets, and in commercial and industrial areas.
The Urban Forest Plan will provide a roadmap to protecting and enhancing our community’s tree canopy. The plan will include baseline information about trees in the City and describe the vision, goals and actions needed to protect and grow the urban forest over the next 30 years.
Importance of the urban forest
Trees are living assets that play a critical role in a healthy and resilient City. The urban forest serves our community by reducing stormwater run-off, filtering air pollution, providing shade and temperature regulation, stabilizing soil and capturing and storing carbon.
The urban forest also beautifies our community, connects people with nature, creates a sense of place, and improves mental and physical well-being, as well as promotes urban biodiversity by providing food and shelter for wildlife.
Why develop an Urban Forest Plan
The urban forest is an integral natural asset that provides many important benefits for the health and livability of our community, but it is facing multiple challenges that put its ability to provide benefits at risk.
Climate change is driving a loss of trees across the community. Long, hot and dry summers stress trees, especially native conifers like western red cedar, western hemlock and Douglas fir. This stress is intensified by disease and pest outbreaks that negatively affect the health of trees, including the western hemlock looper moth outbreak. Development to accommodate a growing community and conflicting priorities for public land in our highly urbanized city also put additional pressure on the urban forest.
To address these challenges while balancing other priorities, an integrated Urban Forest Plan that looks at the community holistically is required.
Get involved
The community is invited to get involved in helping to shape the Urban Forest Plan in two rounds of public engagement. In the first round, we want to learn more about what aspects of the urban forest are important to the community and what could be improved. Information about the urban forest today is found in the State of the Urban Forest report. This feedback will be used to help inform the development of the Urban Forest Plan. Feedback for this phase of the project will be received between Jan. 15 to Feb. 4, 2024.
How to get involved:
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Answer the survey: Share your vision for the City’s urban forest in our survey online at letstalk.cnv.org/UrbanForestPlan or submit a print copy at City Hall. The survey is open from Jan. 15-Feb. 4 at 11:59 p.m.
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Pin places on the online map: Show us your favourite areas of the urban forest, as well as what could be improved, with your photos and comments. Visit letstalk.cnv.org/UrbanForestPlan.
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Attend the webinar on Wednesday, January 24 from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Learn more, ask questions and share feedback. Email urbanforest@cnv.org to register.
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Chat with us at one of our in-person pop-up events.
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NV City Library | Wednesday, January 17 | 3p.m. – 5 p.m.
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Sunrise Park (City Park Stewards Event) | Saturday, Jan. 20 | 9 a.m. – noon
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NV City Library | Sunday, January 21 | 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
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Shipyards Skate Plaza | Saturday, January 27 | 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
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Shipyards Skate Plaza | Sunday, January 28 | 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
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Shipyards Skate Plaza | Saturday, February 3 | 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
During the second round of engagement, the community will be invited to provide feedback on the draft Urban Forest Plan. This second round of engagement is anticipated to take place in the fall of 2024.
More information
For more information about the Urban Forest Plan and how to get involved, visit letstalk.cnv.org/UrbanForestPlan or contact Planning & Development, Environmental Sustainability at urbanforest@cnv.org or 604-983-7333.