The Essex Region Conservation Authority is celebrating the planting of its seven millionth tree.
As part of Earth Week celebrations, ERCA held a tree-planting ceremony on Thursday at the Maidstone Woods Conservation Area off Puce Road in Lakeshore.
The conservation authority will be planting 70,000 trees over the next six weeks as part of the celebration of our earth.
When ERCA was established in 1973, less than three per cent of the Essex region was forested.
The tree planting program began in 1976, and 32,000 trees were added to the regional landscape in that first year.
At its peak, ERCA planted nearly a quarter million trees in a single year.
The forest coverage in the region has expanded to 5.4 per cent, and the percentage of total natural areas now measures 8.5 per cent.
The United Nations standard for environmental sustainability is 12 per cent.
ERCA Chief Administrative Officer Tim Byrne says seven million things is an amazing thing and the difference they've tried to make.
"The UN target of 12 per cent is just a target; we'd like to surpass that," he says.
Byrne says it's an amazing accomplishment.
"We've got to keep pushing ahead and pushing ahead. These announcements of these milestones are important, but what's more important is that we are actively continuing with tree planting, and we are targeting something that provides sustainability for this entire watershed," he says.
Byrne says people point to sustainability, but trees and watersheds are about survivability.
"If you don't have places for wildlife to live and exist, we're just educated wildlife in some cases, and we're not different than the creatures that are here. We need these areas to purify air, purify water, hold soil together, and have areas of refugia for other creatures in this ecosystem," he says.
"It is important to recognize that the biggest constraint to tree planting is the availability of land," said Molly Allaire, ERCA Chair. "Currently, ERCA has no vacant lands on which to plant more trees." She urged guests to advocate to municipalities and others to identify areas where reforestation can take place. ERCA also accepts donations of land suitable for restoration purposes."
ERCA will continue celebrating Earth Day on Sunday, April 27, with a community tree planting in the City of Windsor, along the Ganatchio Trail at Florence and Wyandotte.
More than 2,200 trees will be planted with support from ENWIN, Tree Canada, and Green Sun Rising.
The event begins at 10 a.m., and all are welcome to attend.
With files from CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco