Spencer Radford
"I’d protect mature trees while expanding planting on streets, in parks, and around public facilities. New planting should focus on neighbourhoods with less canopy and greater summer heat. I’d also support proper maintenance and replacement so newly planted trees survive and grow."
Theresa Kavanagh
"Preserving and expanding our tree canopy is critical to protecting neighbourhoods from the impact of extreme heat, and will also help in reducing our City’s greenhouse gas emissions. I support the City’s Plant Your Place! Program that provides free trees to residents across Ottawa. If re-elected, I will push for the expansion of this program, and will also work with city staff to ensure the program is well communicated, particularly in areas identified for priority tree-planting, like Bayshore.
I will also support initiatives to plant more trees in public spaces, including medians, parks (with more tiny forest initiatives), and the city right of way (through the Trees in Trust program). In addition to planting more trees through partnerships with organizations like Ecology Ottawa and community associations, we also need to ensure that mature trees are protected, even as more housing gets built. When the city was developing a new zoning by-law, I successfully advocated for design rules that protect existing mature trees, and expand the urban tree canopy. As a member of the City’s Planning and Housing committee, I have always pushed developers to preserve existing tree canopy in future developments and to plant more trees to benefit residents for generations to come."