Mayor Amarjeet Sohi announced on Monday that the federal government will be investing part of $47.8 million into the planting of over two million trees in Edmonton over the next eight years.

The federal funding comes from the Government of Canada’s "2 Billion Trees" program which invests with multiple governments around the country (municipal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous, etc.) to increase tree coverage and fight climate change.

Nicole Fraser, General Supervisor of Planning and Monitoring of Infrastructure Operations at the City of Edmonton, spoke to CFWE in an interview about the investment, saying that "with this funding [from the federal government], along with $66 million in investment from the city, we're going to be planting - over the next 8 years - more than 2 million trees in Edmonton."

The $66 million is a part of Edmonton's "Greener As We Grow" tree planting project, which aims to plant more trees in the city as time moves on.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi delivering a press conference at the Strathearn Park Lookout. Photo by Ryan Hunt.

According to Fraser, the city has been talking about this specific project ever since the federal government's "2 Billion Trees" plan was announced last year. Fraser also says that before the grant was announced, the city has been planning on where to plant new trees "for a couple years."

New trees in parks and neighborhoods do more than help the environment and create scenery, Fraser describes.

She said that trees can help "reduce pressure on our drainage systems. When you plant more trees, and increase vegetation cover in the city, it slows down rain and reduces pressure on our drainage systems, preventing flooding. It reduces erosion on slopes as well. [The trees will] also providing shade for people to enjoy the parks in."

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, along with two city councilors plant the first few trees of the project. Photo by Ryan Hunt.

Listen to the full CFWE interview with Nicole Fraser below: