Today, MRC Pontiac is holding their annual Tree Day celebrations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. where members of the public can pick from a wide variety of seedlings free of charge. In addition there will be a barbeque in support of local food bank Bouffe Pontiac at the MRC office in Campbell’s Bay. The celebrations are part of the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources' "Mois de l'arbre et des forêts" which takes place every year in May.

The Ministry has been distributing trees for 15 years, and this year they made more trees available than in previous years.

MRC environmental coordinator Kari Richardson explained that they had around 1,000 trees to give away at their office, and around 6,000 in total spread out around the entire region. The varieties available are all native species: white pine, red pine, white spruce, yellow birch, sugar maple, red oak and black cherry.

Trees also available at several other locations throughout the region, including the following municipal offices: Alleyn-and-Cawood, Bristol, Bryson Chichester, Clarendon, l'Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Mansfield-et-Pontefract, L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, Otter-Lake, Rapides-des-Joachims, Sheenboro and Waltham.

The full interview with Richardson is available below: