Meet the non-profit organization who plants millions of trees across Canada each year
Wawanesa is investing $2 million annually to build more climate-resilient communities through our Wawanesa Climate Champions program. In this feature, we’re pleased to introduce one of our partners, Tree Canada, who are dedicated improving the lives of Canadians by planting and nurturing trees while providing education on the value of trees.
Tree Canada is Canada’s only national non-profit organization dedicated to planting and nurturing trees in rural and urban environments in every province across the country. Founded in 1992, the organization plants millions of trees annually through its greening programs, helping communities across Canada become more resilient to the impacts of climate change – whether that’s preventing flooding and soil erosion or protecting communities from extreme wind, heat or water damage.,
Wawanesa employees are so enthusiastic about the great work done by Tree Canada that in September 2023, almost 600 of us came together to help increase the climate resilience of our local communities by planting nearly 4,000 trees. Our 13 tree plantings took place across 11 communities in eight provinces and were made possible through our partnership with Tree Canada.
“Wawanesa selected plantings of trees and shrubs in green spaces that will help equip communities to withstand extreme weather events and other climate impacts,” says Michael Petryk, Director of Urban Programs, Tree Canada “As the trees and plants grow, they will act as carbon sinks, sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Tree Canada is proud to be one of Wawanesa’s Climate Champions, as an organization that is working on the front lines of climate change helping to build more climate resilient communities.”
“Having to evacuate my own home with my family during the wildfires here in Nova Scotia, the opportunity to plant trees in an area ravaged by the fires meant so much more." says Hoyt Sun, Supervisor, Underwriting, Commercial Lines at Wawanesa. "Seeing our team come together to begin the process of bringing back the beautiful forests in the area was a special experience and I’m grateful Wawanesa brought us together for this.”
Wawanesa also provided funding through Tree Canada’s Operation ReLeaf in Nova Scotia and PEI. Operation ReLeaf helps communities impacted by natural disasters like Hurricane Fiona to rebuild by planting new trees in strategically selected areas that will help make their community more resilient to future climate-related events.
Learn more about Tree Canada at treecanada.ca