A group of volunteers in downtown Ottawa is working to restore the city's tree canopy, one sapling at a time. Centretown NeighbourWoods, a community organization formed in 2021, is giving away 50 free trees to residents of the Centretown neighbourhood. The initiative aims to address the declining tree population in the area, which has one of the lowest tree canopy coverages in Ottawa.
Declining tree canopy in Centretown
According to Darlene Pearson, coordinator of Centretown NeighbourWoods, the group discovered that about one quarter of the trees on the right of way had been removed since 2017 and not replaced. The right of way includes municipal land from the edge of private property to the sidewalk, shoulder, road, and pedestrian/vehicular accesses. This loss has contributed to Centretown's low tree canopy coverage, which was just 14 percent in the Somerset ward in 2022, the lowest of all Ottawa wards. Barrhaven East was second-lowest at 16 percent. Ottawa's goal is 40 percent tree canopy coverage in its urban area.
Free tree giveaway details
Centretown residents can apply online for a free tree sapling, choosing from 15 different species native to the region. The trees are three to five feet tall and come in two-gallon pots. Pickup will be on Saturday, May 8, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the McNabb Community Centre. The giveaway is first-come, first-served.
Pearson emphasized the challenges of growing trees in an inner-city neighbourhood like Centretown, which has many hard surfaces and overhead wires. However, she noted that selecting the right tree species for each location can improve success. "There's kind of an adage that says the right tree in the right place. Well, different species will grow better in different kinds of spaces," she said.
Inspiration and city programs
Centretown NeighbourWoods took inspiration from similar initiatives by the Hintonburg Community Association and CAFES Ottawa. The city of Ottawa also launched the "Plant Your Place!" program in March 2025 in conjunction with EnviroCentre. This year, the program is distributing 2,500 free trees across Ottawa, with 100 reserved for priority areas identified in the city's 2025 tree equity survey. Bank Street in Centretown was identified as a high-priority area, while Dalhousie-Rochester Heights in the same ward was selected for targeted tree planting in 2026-2027.
Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster noted that the ward has the lowest percentage of green space in the National Capital Region, underscoring the importance of such tree-planting efforts.
