Forestry
Join us for the 34th annual
Arbor Day Tree Sale this May 11!
Looking to plant trees on your property this Spring? Join us on May 11, 2024 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Tiffin Conservation Area for the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority’s Arbor Day Tree Sale!
Trees and shrubs are sold in bundles of 10 for $35 each.
Are you looking to plant trees next Spring?
We’re searching for landowners looking to plant trees in 2025! Planting trees helps to provide wildlife habitat, shade rivers and streams, produces oxygen, among many other benefits. Well managed forests also contribute to the economy by providing wood for construction and wood fiber for products such as paper.
NVCA has a minimum requirement of 1 hectare (~2 acres) of planting space. All properties must be located in the Nottawasaga Watershed, to find out where your property is located click here.
Thanks to funding support from Forest Ontario’s 50 Million Trees Program, the Simcoe County Tree Planting Program, and the Town of New Tecumseth Tree Planting Program, landowners may be eligible for grants for tree planting. Grant availability depends on property size and location and range between 60-88% of tree planting costs for 2024.
Properties over ~4.5 hectares (11 acres) in size may be eligible for the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program.
Read below to understand the process and requirements of planting trees with NVCA.
Plant trees with NVCA's forestry program
In the early 1900s, as settlers established communities in the Nottawasaga Watershed, they started to clear land for farming, but the topsoil quickly eroded and sand underneath was exposed. Between the 1960s and early 1990s, the Province of Ontario planted millions of trees to restore our forests. Fast forward to today, NVCA is the only organization in the watershed that offers professional tree planting services.
Each year, NVCA’s forestry program plants around 100,000 trees for property owners in the Nottawasaga Watershed who want to convert their land into forests.
What is NVCA's Forestry Program
If you’re interested in planting a forest with NVCA, the first step is to determine if your property is within the Nottawasaga Watershed, and if you have a minimum 1 hectare (2 acres) of planting space. Visit our Interactive Data Viewer to see if your property is in our watershed.
Meet these criteria? Then it’s time to contact NVCA’s Manager of Forestry, Rick Grillmayer. He will walk you through the entire tree planting process, funding structure and more.
If your property is suitable for tree planting with NVCA, Rick will schedule a free site visit to determine the feasibility of planting your site, and if everything goes well, a tree planting plan will be developed for your site, and you will be scheduled into a spring tree plant!
After the tree planting is complete, NVCA will do site inspections in Year 1, 2 and 5 to determine the viability of your forest.
How much does tree planting cost?
Site assessments are always free of charge. NVCA may be able to cover 25% – 95% of tree planting projects. The minimum order is 1,500 trees, which generally requires a hectare (~2 acres) of land.
The cost per tree planted varies considerably, but generally falls in the range of $0.20 to $2.50 per tree. Please contact our Manager of Forestry, Rick Grillmayer for more details.
Is your property suitable?
NVCA will schedule a site visit between June – November to determine the suitability of your property. To ensure the success of your tree plant, here are some of the things we look for:
- Topography – to determine whether we can use our tree planting machine, or if hand planting is required;
- Deer browsing – Deer love to munch on young deciduous trees. The amount of deer browsing determines the tree species that can be planted on your property; and
- Soils – the texture, pH and drainage determines the type of trees that can be planted on your property.
How are the trees planted?
NVCA uses a combination of machine planting and hand planting. Rick explains why in the video below.
What species of trees do we plant?
The majority of the trees planted are conifer (evergreen) trees. Find out why in the video!
Your trees are planted, now what?
NVCA’s tree planting program monitors your newly planted forest in the fall of years one, two and five. Find out how it’s done in the video.
Some landowners may qualify for a tax break through the Managed Forest Incentive Program. Visit this website for more information.
Not the program you're looking for? Try these:
Nottawasaga River Restoration Program
The Nottawasaga River Restoration Program (NRRP) is a stream restoration initiative coordinated by NVCA and Nottawasaga Futures – South Simcoe Streams Network. The program aims to improve water quality in the Upper Nottawasaga River and its Sheldon Creek tributary in order to enhance the world class trout and salmon sport fishery and restore native fish habitat.
Healthy Waters Program
The Healthy Waters Grant Incentive Program provides landowners and community groups with funding and technical assistance for environmental projects on their land.
Stewardship Services
Who to Contact
Rick Grillmayer
Manager, Forestry
