Windsor is more than halfway to its goal of planting 2,500 trees this year.
Mayor Drew Dilkens joined the city's Forester, Yemi Adeyeye, in planting the 1,400th tree at the end of the spring planting season as it works to increase its urban canopy and improve the environment.
The Essex Region Conservation Authority and the Scout Tree Group are also working to help the city reach its goal.
Windsor manages a digital inventory of about 87,000 trees on municipal property. It's not known how many trees grow in forests and other natural areas within the city's boundaries.
The most common trees in the city are honey locust, Norway maple, and silver maple, which make up approximately ten per cent of Windsor's total tree canopy.
"Building Windsor's future includes investments that create green spaces for residents to enjoy while contributing to environmental benefits throughout the city," said Dilkens.
An assessment of Windsor's urban forest canopy in 2020 revealed trees remove more than 195 metric tonnes of air pollution each year worth $1.9-million, provide $1.6-million in annual stormwater management benefits by absorbing 75,000 litres of water, and store nearly 250,000 tonnes of carbon valued at $55-million. Over 6,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide, about $1.5-million worth, is sequestered.
About 19 per cent of Windsor is covered with tree canopy, which was about average for a large city in Ontario in 2021.