Volunteers aim to plant 22K trees as part of Bring Back The Maples campaign in Woolwich Township

By the end of this year, Woolwich Township will be a little more green.

Bring Back the Maples is an ambitious project to plant 22,000 trees along 335 kilometres of township and regional roads by next year. The volunteer project is led by Mark Schwarz, who told CBC Radio's Fresh Air that he has watched trees disappear over the past three decades.

"When we moved to Woolwich 33 years ago, on our road there were approximately 45 maples, which is not a lot over five kilometres and they gradually died out until there were two left and then they took the last two out," he said.

"We thought how can we start restoring these maples and other native trees to the roadside. So that was the genesis of the project."

The group's original plan relied on conventional methods that proved overwhelming. 

"Our first draft project plan cost around $8 million. We were trying to do all the rural roadsides in Woolwich and it would have taken 15 to 20 years. That was kind of our starting point using the current technology or construction approach used by most municipalities." Schwarz said.

By shifting away from traditional planting methods to reforestation practices, they reduced the projected cost to $350,000. Rather than using more mature trees, the new approach utilizes smaller seedlings or plugs, significantly lowering transportation and planting costs.

 "We started at $500 to $800 a tree using typical urban tree planting approaches and now, using reforestation methods, we're down to $15 a tree," he said.

The project still requires investment to protect the young trees from various environmental threats. 

"We've got a tube, we've got a stake. We've got to signal the neighbouring farmer that this is kind of outside his property line. And then also protect them from rabbits, mice and snow damage,"  Schwarz said.

Funding requirements average $110,000 a year, which is provided by the Township of Woolwich, the Region of Waterloo, and corporate donors including Wallenstein Feed, Earthscape Landscape Design, Trillium Insurance and MTE. 

Many of the donors are contributing more than just finances. The installation, tree watering and initial pruning will be done in partnership with Earthscape and their trained youth worker crew. With enhanced techniques and support, planting capacity has surged from 300 trees a day to around 500, reaching 2,000 a week, Schwarz noted.

Although the project is called Bring Back the Maples, the team is planting a diverse range of species, including Sugar and Red Maple, Bur Oak, Walnut, and Crabapple. By diversifying, they aim to enhance ecosystem resilience and mitigate risks from pests like the Emerald ash beetle, Schwarz said.

Survivability remains an important focus, given roadside planting challenges such as weather and road salt.

Despite initial hopes for a 60 per cent survival rate, a recent census showed an impressive 83 per cent, Schwarz said, although he noted "we expect we'll still lose trees over time."

The broader benefits of this reforestation effort extend beyond beautiful roads. Increased canopy cover provides wildlife corridors, and natural windbreaks to combat erosion and boost crop yields.

Inga Rinne who is part of Trees for Woolwich said the goal is also to increase the tree canopy in Elmira to 30 per cent.

Mayor Sandy Shantz told CBC News in an email that the initiative is an important one as the township grows.

"A number of our new subdivisions are on land that was previously cleared and farmed, so it will take time to get significant coverage," Shantz said. "That's why its important to include trees as part of our new subdivisions."

Volunteers with Bring Back the Maples will be actively planting along Woolwich Township roadsides until Dec. 1.