LONDON, ONT. -- Due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) will miss its target of planting 75,000 trees this year.
ERCA believes it will miss its goal by at least 65 per cent.
The conservation authority’s efforts are meant to improve the region’s estimated 8.5 per cent tree coverage, which sits well below the provincial average of 26 per cent, according to Forests Ontario.
The non-profit group says research shows the recommended forest cover for a healthy eco-system is 40 per cent.
The ERCA hopes to make up the shortfall in 2020.
“I think many, many other regions are going to experience the same thing,” says Kieran McKenzie, ERCA board chair.
