For many of us building a custom home, we’ve chosen to build on a patch of land outside of the city. That often means we have one or more acres under own ownership that can be considered for various uses.

Space for gardening, recreation, pure enjoyment, and even aspects of self-sufficiency or cost offsetting (e.g. solar panels) come into consideration.

Why not consider planting trees in volume? Tree planting is a great way to improve a property and its value, provide wildlife habitat, reduce land erosion, create shade and livable spaces, and offset carbon emissions.

For anyone in the Rideau Valley and City of Ottawa, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority offers a tremendous opportunity through its Trees for Tomorrow and Green Acres programs. For any landowner with property sitting idle, RCVA offers technical and financial assistance to reforest that space.

Imagine your property filled with more than an acre of trees for a fraction of the real investment required, where all of the hard work is done by others, including site assessment, clearing and planting. The program includes survival assessments in the early years.

The only commitment on the part of landowners is to cover the heavily subsidized planting effort (this really is a good deal), order a minimum of 500 trees, and to make reasonable efforts to protect the trees from damage.

The program receives significant funding from the 50 Million Tree Program of Forests Ontario.

Do you have land sitting idle? Wondering about how to reforest your property without breaking the bank? Thinking about leaving a bit of a legacy?

Consider planting trees for tomorrow.